half-witted

adjective

Definition of half-wittednext
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
  1. dumb
  2. foolish
  3. stupid
  4. silly
  5. slow
  6. absurd
  7. simple
  8. insane
Adjective
  • We’ll always be thought of as too conservative, too dumb, too reactionary, too violent by too many.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Here, in this image of an ingenious skidding kitten—in both its brutality and its beautiful, dumb, playful resilience—lies the wisdom of Marcon’s art.
    — Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of dumb
Adjective
  • With Oracle having lost more than $20 billion in stock-market value today, this appears to be penny-wise and pound foolish.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • While the era’s bust eventually brought most of those ventures to an end, Brown said the experience taught him not to let the fear of failure—or looking foolish—get in the way.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • Parents who decline to vaccinate their children have been called selfish and stupid.
    — Nicholas Florko, STAT, 29 Sep. 2026
  • No one is evil, but people do stupid things, which accords with my own memories of college.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • Much of the advice for making friends can feel silly or trite, but focusing on three areas may make a significant impact on your social situation.
    — Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Then again, the silliest thing our species could do is resign ourselves to disaster.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • Because mRNA technology bypasses the slow process of growing viruses in eggs, mRNA manufacturing allows for later influenza strain selection and fast production, unlike traditional vaccines.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • After his sudden death in 1960, Olivetti began a slow decline and was eventually broken up and merged with a telecommunications company.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • Ambitious mukbang-ers eager to prove their gastronomic stamina descended on Red Lobster locations across the country to consume absurd quantities of shrimp.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • When things get too absurd or heavy, a one liner pops in and Olesen knows how to do the set up, and then, the mic drop.
    — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • Ahead, design industry pros share the 7 decor mistakes that could be outdating your living room, along with simple fixes to refresh the space.
    — Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The equation is even simpler for Bernie Margulies, CEO of American Compute, which advises on risk management for GPU financing.
    — Kif Leswing,Isabel O'Brien,Seema Mody, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • In particular, users are gravitating towards — and posting their own covers of — the bridge, which finds Williams belting insane high notes.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Evidently, the Manhunter released gas that drove Antaan’s people insane, forcing many of them to jump to their deaths.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of insane
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

half-wits
half-witted
half-wittedness
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Cite this Entry

“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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