Synonyms
Examples of simpleton in a Sentence
The instructions were so complicated I felt like a complete simpleton.
his silly antics at office parties have earned him a reputation as a simpleton
Recent Examples on the Web
Gamble, seeing there was no way to get anywhere with the chancellor playing the simpleton, opened the floor to softball questions.
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Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons.
—Marilynne Robinson, Harper's Magazine, 1 July 2022
All three of his major poetry-writing heteronyms, with their distinctive and incompatible orientations to life—a holy simpleton of a shepherd, a moody naval engineer, and a stoical medical student turned Latin instructor—are impressive modern poets, as is Pessoa under his own name.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021
His competition was Forrest Gump, a feel-good studio drama that located America’s soul in a sweet simpleton played by Tom Hanks.
—Michael Schulman, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for simpleton 
Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons.
—Marilynne Robinson, Harper's Magazine, 1 July 2022
All three of his major poetry-writing heteronyms, with their distinctive and incompatible orientations to life—a holy simpleton of a shepherd, a moody naval engineer, and a stoical medical student turned Latin instructor—are impressive modern poets, as is Pessoa under his own name.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021
His competition was Forrest Gump, a feel-good studio drama that located America’s soul in a sweet simpleton played by Tom Hanks.
—Michael Schulman, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for simpleton
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'simpleton.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Simpleton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simpleton. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
simpleton
noun
sim·ple·ton
ˈsim-pəl-tən 
: a person lacking in common sense
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