dunderheaded

adjective

Definition of dunderheadednext
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily a comedy featuring the antics of dunderheaded criminals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 dunderheaded Smog authorities put a stop to some of our dunderheaded pollution-generating self-owns. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dunderheaded
  1. dumb
  2. stupid
  3. slow
  4. simple
  5. thick
  6. foolish
Adjective
  • And that's exactly where Glenn was for the second time this season — guilty of the dumbest moment of the week.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • There’s a dumb ending, involving the Bewitched theme and Dennis Rodman discussing the perils of adult illiteracy (sure), but everything before that is pretty fun, including the Bumblebee Man turning into a bumblebee and Lisa into Albert Einstein.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of dumb
Adjective
  • Sick and suffering and young and stupid do not factor into the construction of a case against you.
    — Ivy Wolk, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Just give us the stupid game on the stupid channel and leave us alone.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • The course of Alzheimer’s disease is slightly slower than that of Lewy body dementia, according to Vossel.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The team found that slower charging helped create more uniform, inorganic-rich protective layers, which are important for maintaining stable battery performance.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • The actor wore a long black leather coat over a simple black tank, paired with straight-leg blue jeans cinched with a leather belt.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The company played with flexible workdays instead of rigid schedules, clearer windows for collaboration, simpler rules for meetings, better ways to share and document work, and more intentional reasons for coming together in person.
    — Deborah Lovich, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • That album, like the Dio Sabbath classics before it, was fine-tuned for metalhead appreciation, thick with crushing riffs and dramatic vocals.
    — Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
  • At just 70 micrometers thick, the artificial skin has an impressive resolution of 847 dots per inch (dpi), fine enough to detail individual fingerprint ridges.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of thick
Adjective
  • The descent into foolish and self-destructive groupthink provides the drama.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But Ohtani also struck out three times Thursday — made to look foolish in a much-too-familiar way.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of foolish

Browse Nearby Words

dunderhead
dunderheaded
dunderheads
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dunderheaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dunderheaded. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wraith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All