half-witted

adjective

Definition of half-wittednext
1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily the young genius mastered calculus while his peers, who seemed half-witted in comparison, labored over basic addition and subtraction

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment had the half-witted idea to try to swim across the raging river, and would have drowned if someone hadn't rescued him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-witted
  1. dumb
  2. foolish
  3. stupid
  4. silly
  5. slow
  6. absurd
  7. simple
  8. mad
Adjective
  • Some 17-year-olds are awkward, gangly teens who tend to do or say dumb things.
    — Caleb Otte, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026
  • Vance appears to be performing a smart person’s idea of a dumb person.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
Definition of dumb
Adjective
  • Doing it for a guy who was closer to average last year and got outplayed by his backup is probably downright foolish.
    — Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Johnson continued this week to push for his foolish and counterproductive desire to impose a $33-per-month tax on each Chicago job generated by the city’s largest private-sector employers.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • Parametric modeling, especially when weighted down with decades of AutoCAD’s stupid UI/UX choices, was even harder than programming.
    — Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2026
  • The simplest explanation is that Vance believes his voters are stupid.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • Kind of a silly riddle, but what’s life if not a little silly.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • Ranking titanic figures from different eras might be a fruitless and silly exercise to some, but this type of debate is also the one thing sports is supposed to be.
    — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • General Daily Insight for July 26, 2026 A slower pace could reveal what pressure has been hiding.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026
  • With a boat launch, any size motors are invited, but must be operated at a slow no-wake speed, according to the park website.
    — Zuri Primos July 26, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • Open the requisition on a Monday and the number is already absurd.
    — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Their air of slightly absurd quasi-spontaneity is nicely amplified by the jittery yet unobtrusive rhythms of the direction and Yost’s editing.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 July 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • One solution would be a relatively simple expansion of the southern end of the Stadium of Light to mirror the height of the west and north.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Food safety experts say a few simple habits can make a difference.
    — Olivia LaBorde, AJC.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • But Carveout 2160 is a new IP in snowboarding, which was responsible for the fastest and maddest games of the era.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
  • Tamra is right; Shannon and some of the other cast are looking for things to get mad about, taking tiny things and blowing them up.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 24 July 2026
Definition of mad
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.

Browse Nearby Words

half-wits
half-witted
half-wittedness
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Cite this Entry

“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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