unintelligent
adjective
un·in·tel·li·gent
ˌən-in-ˈte-lə-jənt 
: lacking intelligence : not intelligent
an unintelligent remark
a crude, unintelligent person
unintelligently
adverb
Synonyms
- airheaded
- birdbrained
- bonehead
- boneheaded
- brain-dead
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- chuckleheaded
- dense
- dim
- dim-witted
- doltish
- dopey
- dopy
- dorky [slang]
- dull
- dumb
- dunderheaded
- empty-headed
- fatuous
- gormless [chiefly British]
- half-witted
- knuckleheaded
- lamebrain
- lamebrained
- lunkheaded
- mindless
- oafish
- obtuse
- opaque
- pinheaded
- senseless
- simple
- slow
- slow-witted
- soft
- softheaded
- stupid
- thick
- thick-witted
- thickheaded
- unsmart
- vacuous
- weak-minded
- witless
Examples of unintelligent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These communities were also more likely to believe in outdated stereotypes, like all cannabis users are lazy, dangerous, deviant or unintelligent.
—
Niklas Kouparanis, Rolling Stone, 26 July 2023
The former president began to talk regularly about Milley in 2021, dismissing him and bringing up stories that made Milley seem unintelligent and untrustworthy, according to sources.
—Robert Costa, CBS News, 9 June 2023
Part of the goal of minstrel shows was to flatten Black people into unintelligent archetypes whose only value was in their physicality as performers.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 13 Apr. 2023
Most of them are, stereotypically, unintelligent.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2017
Two deft new stand-up specials dig into stereotypes about the unintelligent, dust them off and renovate them for a new era, while a new mockumentary gets even bigger laughs through the stunt of placing a fool in a variety of intellectual arenas.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023
Taerim, who Sanghui describes as second in beauty only to Hae-on, is venomous in her attempts to convince those around her that the dead girl was stuck-up, unintelligent, and never deserved adulation.
—Arianna Rebolini, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2021
Second, notice that liberals and Democrats who are Creationists tend to be kind of unintelligent.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 July 2010
Even otherwise intelligent literary people have a very unintelligent relationship to this part of human life.
—Hazlitt, 3 Jan. 2023
See More
Niklas Kouparanis, Rolling Stone, 26 July 2023
The former president began to talk regularly about Milley in 2021, dismissing him and bringing up stories that made Milley seem unintelligent and untrustworthy, according to sources.
—Robert Costa, CBS News, 9 June 2023
Part of the goal of minstrel shows was to flatten Black people into unintelligent archetypes whose only value was in their physicality as performers.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 13 Apr. 2023
Most of them are, stereotypically, unintelligent.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2017
Two deft new stand-up specials dig into stereotypes about the unintelligent, dust them off and renovate them for a new era, while a new mockumentary gets even bigger laughs through the stunt of placing a fool in a variety of intellectual arenas.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023
Taerim, who Sanghui describes as second in beauty only to Hae-on, is venomous in her attempts to convince those around her that the dead girl was stuck-up, unintelligent, and never deserved adulation.
—Arianna Rebolini, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2021
Second, notice that liberals and Democrats who are Creationists tend to be kind of unintelligent.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 July 2010
Even otherwise intelligent literary people have a very unintelligent relationship to this part of human life.
—Hazlitt, 3 Jan. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unintelligent.' 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
1664, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near unintelligent
Cite this Entry
“Unintelligent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unintelligent. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
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