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
-
Let’s face it, life is full of foolish decisions.—
Jay Weissberg,
Variety,
14 May 2026
-
Trump previously said his administration would have been foolish not to accept it.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
8 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
-
Most big comedy shows at the fest had a strict no cellphones policy, Seinfeld was content with just reminding us that our friends are all sick of our stupid cellphone videos.—
Malina Saval,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Don’t eat stupid food, don’t do music in the background.—
Terry Terrones,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
The spinoff will feature Beth Dutton riding horses more frequently, a change from her character's past trauma.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
In an announcement video posted to social media, Martin was joined by characters from Sesame Street and the Muppets, with a cameo from BTS.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The fantasy comedy twisted the types of fairy tales that Disney was known for with cruder and sillier humor and centered a grumpy ogre journeying to save a princess.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
So, yes, this movie about the silly baby Yoda creature has a lot riding on it.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 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
-
In any other historical period, proposing such a career trajectory would’ve seemed mildly insane — like if Peter Buck had followed up Fables of the Reconstruction by producing Whitney Houston instead of the Feelies.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
-
For so much of the season, Rachel is low-key stoned, which can keep her at a remove, even when things are getting really insane.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
14 May 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 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
