as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a crackpot scheme to get rich quick
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
everyone is tolerant of the town crackpot, a man who never hurt anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crackpot
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Even in Australia, the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons has slowly migrated from crackpot mutterings to fringe discourse.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Mar. 2026
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 26 Nov. 2025
So like Janet Mills, crackpot fellow traveler Jared Golden was getting muscled… from the left.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackpot
Adjective
And this bawdy crowd-pleaser at least has the courage of its crackpot convictions.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Even in Australia, the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons has slowly migrated from crackpot mutterings to fringe discourse.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
Theater mainstay Geoff Elliot, who co-directs the show and who has traditionally played Scrooge, is rotating as the crackpot miser with actor Henry Lubatti at some performances.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 26 Nov. 2025
So like Janet Mills, crackpot fellow traveler Jared Golden was getting muscled… from the left.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackpot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crackpot
Adjective
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
-
Backing the Cubs right now seems foolish.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
-
The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And that was so arrogant and stupid on my part.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
At some point, Brandon Aiyuk has to learn that stupid decisions come with consequences.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
-
Each of their characters has their foibles but neither ever leans unlikable.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
People who see ghosts tend to see the same ghost wafting down the same staircase, but none of the characters populating Leo’s wacko hallucinations have returned for a repeat perfor-mance.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
-
This wacko crew was one of the greatest things in the history of television.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
After eighteen months of crisis that saw historic urban fires, harassment by federal immigration authorities, and the generalized anxiety that attends a place where rents are high and services low, public transit inadequate and gas prices insane, the city’s vitality is flagging.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Lots of wires, lots of insane stunts.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
After Kent’s resignation, Republican hawks denounced him as a kook and a traitor to the cause, without touching on the delicate question of why Trump appointed such a disreputable figure in the first place.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Even Kathy Hilton is like a ghost of her former self, with Jen Tilly taking the crown of doddering kook away from her.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crackpot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crackpot. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
