1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a teacher who affirms that there are no brainless students, only lazy ones
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a brainless decision to talk on her cell phone while weaving in and out of traffic
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brainless
There's really no way to prep for the show — basically, just don't be brainless.
—
Lindsay Soll, EW.com, 25 July 2025
The O’Haras happen to move in next door to him.
Frothy and often filthy without being brainless (send thanks across the Atlantic for that good British dialogue), this is escapism done right.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
So, what can the neuronal activity of a tiny, brainless creature possibly tell us about the evolution of our own complex brains?
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 15 June 2024
An oyster, immobile and nearly brainless, is hardly even an animal, despite what the taxonomists tell us.
—Peter Rubin, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for brainless
Lindsay Soll, EW.com, 25 July 2025
The O’Haras happen to move in next door to him.
Frothy and often filthy without being brainless (send thanks across the Atlantic for that good British dialogue), this is escapism done right.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
So, what can the neuronal activity of a tiny, brainless creature possibly tell us about the evolution of our own complex brains?
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 15 June 2024
An oyster, immobile and nearly brainless, is hardly even an animal, despite what the taxonomists tell us.
—Peter Rubin, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for brainless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brainless
Adjective
-
These apps often default to a faster, dumber model.—
Matt Shumer,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Who, other than dumb people like me, are gonna recruit high school kids?—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But maybe Johnson isn’t stupid.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Even in contemporary political and intellectual discourse, there remains an attachment to a particular stupid southern conservatism, the ideocratic confederacy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That builds on similar trends throughout 2025, when the industry buoyed an otherwise slow labor market, as the nation’s hospitals, clinics and nursing homes kept hiring even as many employers pulled back.—
Abha Bhattarai,
Washington Post,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Any type of realism was [limited to] very short clips, everything was very slow, bad textures, no skin textures, lacking detail.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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When federal policy creates an opportunity to bring additional resources into a state’s education ecosystem, leaders would be foolish to ignore it.—
Susana A. Mendoza,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The fear of looking foolish lasts a moment.—
Brendan Keegan,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That simple sentiment distills what being a Louisianan is about.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
No doubt history would be very different if a citizen’s duty was simple obeyance.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Don’t feel silly asking at the ski shop.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
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Walker offers this diagnosis himself, leeringly dismissing Pearl as a silly mommy, awash with hormones, mildly and minorly hysterical.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Mathews vividly remembers riding in one of her father’s water trucks through thick smoke as black as the night to help family members and other ranchers save their homes.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Now, a team of researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences has shown that even a bare carbon fiber, no thicker than a human hair, can bend and straighten on command, without any direct wiring.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Your day-to-day life would be insane!—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
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Defense lawyers had argued during the trial that Taylor was legally insane at the time of the offense.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brainless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brainless. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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