as in TV
an electronic device with a screen and speakers that reproduces images and sound
she declared that she wouldn't have an idiot box in her home
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Recent Examples of idiot box
Writers strove to position themselves as more cynical than the idiot box that knew itself to be an idiot box.
—
Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box.
—Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023
But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation.
—Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021
All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
Column: Streamers profited when ‘the idiot box’ became art.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
All that, somehow, without Truman himself ever switching on the idiot box.
—Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023
But the idiot box has also inspired arguably his worst projects, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom, sanctimonious and stupefyingly self-serious accounts of the woes of content creation.
—Jason Bailey, Vulture, 21 Dec. 2021
All those childhood years in front of the idiot box could now be considered research — a lifetime of training, cleverly disguised as sloth.
—Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiot box
Noun
-
Osmond, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 1987, died with Suzanne — his wife of more than 50 years — and their eight sons at his bedside, the family confirmed in a statement to Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate, KSL TV 5.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The one-of-a-kind event will officially kick off Variety TV Week on Tuesday, May 5, in Los Angeles with an afternoon of conversation, connection, and celebration.—
William Earl,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Nataliia was watching a romance film on television.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Most people live lives whose day-to-day features aren’t exactly gripping viewing and whose trajectories are difficult to squeeze into the structures and strictures of serialized television.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiot box.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiot%20box. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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