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
Adjective
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Okay, there's trying something new and then there's just being dumb.—
Samantha Highfill,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026 -
Why portray Dorothy as a doe-eyed ding-a-ling; as not just naive but dumb?—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
Gwen Faulkenberry,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
-
No one should be defending activists who engage in the most foolish and dangerous actions!—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In tribute to Michael Keane’s hair-pulling on Wednesday, Cerys Jones picked through the stupidest dismissals in Premier League history.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
-
To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
Gwen Faulkenberry,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
To say the road to the Super Bowl goes through Jacksonville sounds silly in the NFL’s grand scheme, but for a talented and decorated Bills group that never has won there, that’s the first stop on the quest.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Citing the Monroe Doctrine is silly.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Traditional humanoid robots depend heavily on data collected by human operators, which is slow and expensive.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Her days were slow and intentional.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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After the first Roundtable, Survivor stalwart Rob Cesternino — perhaps clued in by Candiace’s absurd conga line ploy to get people out of the kitchen — sniffed out that a murder in plain sight could be happening.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
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Contrary to what many may think, the researchers found no correlation between a person’s level of education and their capacity to believe in absurd conspiracies.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 8,
Futurism,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This simple taupe geometric style peel-and-stick wallpaper is affordable, easy to apply, and looks gorgeous without being too bold or loud.—
Brittney Morgan,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Jan. 2026
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The simple addition of zipper detailing adds a preppy energy to the top.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And everyone is mad at Andrew—though this one feels like a rumor and more reality.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
7 Jan. 2026
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He’s been thrown straight into a mad month, in which Chelsea have Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League fixtures.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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