simpleton

noun sim·ple·ton \ ˈsim-pəl-tən \

Definition of simpleton

:a person lacking in common sense

See simpleton defined for English-language learners

See simpleton defined for kids

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 of simpleton from the Web

Too often in books and popular culture, poor country people are portrayed as either ugly redneck caricatures or naive, good-natured simpletons.

— dmitry samarov, Chicago Reader, "Seams from Scott McClanahan’s marriage," 12 July 2017
On the other hand, at least the Senate waited to get this CBO score before voting, which is a lot more than Paul Ryan and his merry band of craven simpletons in the House can say these days.

— jay willis, GQ, "The CBO Score for Senate Republicans' Health Care Bill Is Worse Than You Thought," 26 June 2017
Life is pitiless and strange; only simpletons look for neat meanings.

— dwight garner, New York Times, "Sex, Drugs and Marxism in ‘Class’," 21 June 2017
Yes, the series began as a beautiful-but-underwhelming PS4 launch game, seemingly tuned for children and comparable simpletons.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Video: Sony lets Ars loose on PlayStation’s E3 games and developers," 14 June 2017
Forrest Gump (May 1) Life is like a box of chocolates to Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump, a simpleton who stumbles his way through numerous key events in 20th century American history in Robert Zemeckis's Oscar-winning film.

— nick schager, Esquire, "Here Are the Must-Stream Movies of June 2017," 31 May 2017
Forrest Gump (May 1) Life is like a box of chocolates to Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump, a simpleton who stumbles his way through numerous key events in 20th century American history in Robert Zemeckis's Oscar-winning film.

— nick schager, Esquire, "Here Are the Must-Stream Movies of June 2017," 31 May 2017
Roman Zhurbin, always superb in character roles, was Simone; Craig Salstein, who often exaggerates his facial expressions, but not here, was the adorably irrepressible simpleton suitor.

— alastair macaulay, New York Times, "Review: Dancing Chickens and a Real Pony in American Ballet Theater’s Comic Pastoral," 25 May 2016
To revisit simple pleasures without becoming simpletons, retro must give way to repo.

— the sucksters, WIRED, "The Way We Weren’t," 9 Dec. 1997

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'simpleton.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.