as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
got tired of being treated like an empty-headed lackey and quit to start a business
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Recent Examples of empty-headed
Gosling earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the empty-headed Ken, while Ferrell played the goofy CEO of Mattel.
—
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 July 2025
Andrew Cunningham Pokémon NPCs usually spout empty-headed pleasantries about the wonders of Pokémon; the NPCs in Palworld set a darker tone from the start.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2024
Fairly or not, NOFX and its Warped Tour compatriots are easily written off as empty-headed, obnoxious, adolescent bros. Fat Mike’s capitalist streak rubs many purists the wrong way.
—Brett Martin, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 July 2025
Andrew Cunningham Pokémon NPCs usually spout empty-headed pleasantries about the wonders of Pokémon; the NPCs in Palworld set a darker tone from the start.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2024
Fairly or not, NOFX and its Warped Tour compatriots are easily written off as empty-headed, obnoxious, adolescent bros. Fat Mike’s capitalist streak rubs many purists the wrong way.
—Brett Martin, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for empty-headed
Adjective
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Telling the story this way elides, smooths over, and underestimates the role of circumstance and dumb luck.—
Charles Yu,
The Atlantic,
5 Mar. 2026
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Advertisement This strategy was tried in the dumb-bomb era.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
End these stupid, senseless wars.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
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Most of the films that came after are ridiculous and stupid.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Council members LaWana Slack-Mayfield, Malcolm Graham and Joi Mayo, whose west Charlotte District 3 contains most of the affected part of I-77, pressed the agency on its slow responses to their questions, asked in November, shortly after NCDOT released its maps for the first time.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
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The jokes and musical bits are amusing but not groundbreaking, and the story is too light and slow to have a real impact.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Engineers have developed a simple strategy to help robots remain stable while repairing satellites in orbit by using a second robotic arm to counterbalance movements.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Mar. 2026
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Don’t be afraid to suggest budget caps for group plans, because everyone relaxes when guidelines are simple and visible.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Looking for a thicker platform?—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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His house sits across from what used to be a thick copse of woods.—
Liam Rappleye,
Freep.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Instead of simply challenging the more foolish of those woke policies, our federal and state governments seem hell bent on obliterating any activity that even hints of DEI.—
Maurice O'Sullivan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Mar. 2026
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This kind of talk is also politically foolish and risks alienating the many Americans who already distrust this war.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Empty-headed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empty-headed. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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