as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a comedy show that invariably portrays the British aristocracy as a bunch of gormless twits
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Recent Examples of gormless
There’s some droll humor in this pileup of bad decisions and bad behavior — particularly in one running gag that sees Carey doggedly befriending Ashley’s parade of exes, including one hilariously gormless f-boy played by drawling ensemble standout Charlie Gillespie.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 May 2025
Much like bad prose, his gormless suits draw far too much attention to themselves.
—Hazlitt, 19 Dec. 2024
Much like bad prose, his gormless suits draw far too much attention to themselves.
—Hazlitt, 19 Dec. 2024
Much of the movie unfolds inside the suburban Connecticut mansion where Lily lives with her gormless mother (Francie Swift) and her loathsome stepdad.
—Justin Chang, latimes.com, 8 Mar. 2018
Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 May 2025
Much like bad prose, his gormless suits draw far too much attention to themselves.
—Hazlitt, 19 Dec. 2024
Much like bad prose, his gormless suits draw far too much attention to themselves.
—Hazlitt, 19 Dec. 2024
Much of the movie unfolds inside the suburban Connecticut mansion where Lily lives with her gormless mother (Francie Swift) and her loathsome stepdad.
—Justin Chang, latimes.com, 8 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gormless
Adjective
-
Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
-
Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Adjective
-
Mexican men were dismissed as violent Panchos and stupid Pedros.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
-
There’s more stupid romance around harder substances but few chemicals are more hazardous to ambition than THC.—
Benjamin Hale
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
Juicy, tender ribs are hard to beat, and cooking them low and slow is the key to achieving that irresistible fall-off-the-bone texture and deep, savory flavor.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
23 June 2025
-
The music is, for the most part, quiet and slow, often hovering at the edge of silence.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing.—
Leila Sloman,
Wired News,
29 June 2025
-
And given that toppers were developed specifically as a lighter, simpler alternative to full-bodied campers, designed to fit within limited midsize truck payloads, that extra beef is a definite problem for some shoppers.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 June 2025
Adjective
-
Simply lather a thick coating of petroleum jelly onto the scratch.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
21 June 2025
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As thick clouds billowed out of Eyjafjallajökull, the skies over the North Atlantic — one of the world’s busiest aviation routes — fell silent, with air traffic dropping to levels that wouldn’t be seen again until the Covid pandemic a decade later.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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And what often emerges instead is a dull kind of numbness, chronic irritability or total withdrawal.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
-
Get rid of dull and dirty razor heads (which should no longer be used) and pair your bathing supplies down to only the items that are used on a weekly basis.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gormless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gormless. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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