1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
the young genius mastered calculus while his peers, who seemed half-witted in comparison, labored over basic addition and subtraction
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
had the half-witted idea to try to swim across the raging river, and would have drowned if someone hadn't rescued him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-witted
Adjective
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As Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, Witherspoon charted a memorable path from dumb blonde to Harvard Law School graduate.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025 -
Celebrities fight it out to be eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That was questionable, but not egregiously foolish, in our view, because of the limited amount of time left.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
3 Nov. 2025
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Another agent pointed to how contractions in post-strike, post-pandemic Hollywood have decimated the theater business, creating new opportunities that Netflix would be foolish to pass up.—
Chris Lee,
Vulture,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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What gave me the crazy idea to stand at the bar, listening to that woman being praised for her stupid f---ing commitment to New York City and her ugly f---ing buildings?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In the picture, Diplo makes a silly face while Trudeau stares straight into the camera.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
3 Nov. 2025
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This fourth installment finds plenty to mine from Jigsaw and his diabolical traps — and yes, that silly tricycle-riding clown gets some screen time.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Nov. 2025
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When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The combination of absurd temperatures, damp humidity, and having my hair stick to my neck daily was driving me insane.—
Kayla Greaves,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
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Plus, who doesn’t love Nick Offerman sharing the screen with absurd facial hair?—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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As Heather and Whitney hang out in their room, Whitney points out that anytime Lisa’s mad at someone, information on that person subsequently comes out.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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And that is why the idea of him relaunching his coaching career back at the scene of such failures felt mad.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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