stupidity

noun

stu·​pid·​i·​ty stu̇-ˈpi-də-tē How to pronounce stupidity (audio)
styu̇-
plural stupidities
1
: the quality or state of being stupid
2
: a stupid idea or act

Examples of stupidity in a Sentence

I was shocked by the stupidity of their decision. the stupidity of the dialogue between the two romantic leads had movie audiences giggling uncontrollably
Recent Examples on the Web English filmmaker Chris Morris invites us to laugh at terror, literally, putting the stupidity of these hilariously clueless jihadists front and center. Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2024 Social media is awash with stupidity, cruelty and wrongheaded political opinions passed off as deep thoughts and intellectual acuity. Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2024 Jason Fuchs, who did write the movie, creates a twists-and-turns tension between fun and stupidity that carries the movie along for a sizable amount of its too-long 2-hour and 19-minute running time. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 31 Jan. 2024 The difference between stupidity and ignorance is that the stupid ones were given the chance to learn something, know better or make better decisions, but refused or failed to choose door number one and found themselves deep in number two. Dean Minnich, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2024 What’s been built to date can stand as a monument to the arrogance and stupidity of Newsom and his cronies. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 5 Jan. 2024 As Congress lurches from the brink of one government shutdown to another, official Washington — and the federal workforce around the country — has grown numb to what is widely described as the stupidity of the nation’s budget process. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 The investors deserved to lose their shirts; greed and stupidity got the better of them. WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023 Weighing the extinction of species through our careless stewardship of nature’s bounty against the near-term cost of regulation demonstrates human shortsightedness at best, and stupidity and cynicism at worst. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stupidity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stupidity was circa 1541

Dictionary Entries Near stupidity

Cite this Entry

“Stupidity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupidity. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stupidity

noun
stu·​pid·​i·​ty st(y)u̇-ˈpid-ət-ē How to pronounce stupidity (audio)
plural stupidities
1
: the quality or state of being stupid
2
: something (as an idea or act) that is stupid

More from Merriam-Webster on stupidity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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