as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a crackpot scheme to get rich quick
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of crackpot
Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
There’s also a subplot involving an elderly cancer patient, a pizza restaurant that doesn’t deliver outside of the city, and a crackpot scheme to move the city-limit sign down the highway so that Clara’s crush can get his grandpa’s favorite pie sent to their home.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackpot
Adjective
The hyperactive news cycle demands everyone create some kind of schema for figuring out what’s going on, and our era is typified with crackpot right-wing conspiracies that fill that void.
—Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
So like Janet Mills, crackpot fellow traveler Jared Golden was getting muscled… from the left.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
There’s also a subplot involving an elderly cancer patient, a pizza restaurant that doesn’t deliver outside of the city, and a crackpot scheme to move the city-limit sign down the highway so that Clara’s crush can get his grandpa’s favorite pie sent to their home.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackpot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crackpot
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
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The fear of looking foolish lasts a moment.—
Brendan Keegan,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But maybe Johnson isn’t stupid.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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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
Noun
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Over the past week, a slew of cinematic videos of celebrities and characters in absurd situations have gone viral online, with one commonality –– they were created using a new artificial intelligence tool from Chinese developer ByteDance, sparking anxiety over the fast-evolving capabilities of AI.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Transfers have been cancelled if, as Foster says, a player’s character is judged not to be a good fit.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Maybe the Pac-12 and Mountain West will look silly for not buying in, then watch as the NFC West bids against the Premier League and Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Hornets.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Since then, the fizzy dance challenge has exploded on TikTok, with tons of fans re-creating the clip’s silly dance moves in their kitchens, parking garages, living rooms, Times Square and hospital corridors.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This wacko crew was one of the greatest things in the history of television.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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His search takes him to a wacko cult in the desert run by a scamster, and that of course puts the sheriff in deadly danger.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
6 July 2025
Adjective
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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
Noun
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O’Hara worked consistently across her 50-year career in both film and television, best known for playing beloved kooks and amiable wackos, though her range was boundless.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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Prizes will be available for participants in the categories of individual kook and group costume, judged by a panel composed of race partner Cardiff 101 Mainstreet.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crackpot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crackpot. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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