dunderhead

noun

dun·​der·​head ˈdən-dər-ˌhed 

: dunce, blockhead

dunderheaded

ˌdən-dər-ˈhe-dəd 

adjective

Synonyms

• airhead
• birdbrain
• blockhead
• bonehead
• bubblehead
• chowderhead
• chucklehead
• clodpoll
• clodpole
• clot [British]
• cluck
• clunk
• cretin
• cuddy [British dialect]
• cuddie
• deadhead
• dim bulb [slang]
• dimwit
• dip
• dodo
• dolt
• donkey
• doofus [slang]
• dope
• dork [slang]
• dullard
• dum-dum
• dumbbell
• dumbhead
• dummkopf
• dummy
• dunce
• fathead
• gander
• golem
• goof
• goon
• half-wit
• hammerhead
• hardhead
• idiot
• ignoramus
• imbecile
• jackass
• know-nothing
• knucklehead
• lamebrain
• loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
• loon
• lump
• lunkhead
• meathead
• mome [archaic]
• moron
• mug [chiefly British]
• mutt
• natural
• nimrod [slang]
• nincompoop
• ninny
• ninnyhammer
• nit [chiefly British]
• nitwit
• noddy
• noodle
• numskull
• numbskull
• oaf
• pinhead
• prat [British]
• ratbag [chiefly Australian]
• saphead
• schlub [slang]
• shlub
• schnook [slang]
• simpleton
• stock
• stupe
• stupid
• thickhead
• turkey
• woodenhead
• yahoo
• yo-yo

Examples of dunderhead in a Sentence

wondered how long it would take the dunderheads at the head office to screw things up

Recent Examples on the Web

Back in 1848, being called a goose was like being called a dunderhead. —Detroit Free Press, 12 Aug. 2023

But don't be too quick to write off these tiny critters as dunderheads. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023

The story’s hero, Nat (no last name given) is a classic le Carré character, a skilled mid-level field operative in the secret British intelligence services who is underappreciated and sometimes abused by the dunderheads above him. —Richard Lipez, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Dutch donder thunder + English head; akin to Old High German thonar thunder — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above