1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
quit acting like a nincompoop, because I know you are smarter than that
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in moron
a stupid person
who wants a nincompoop as a business partner?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nincompoop
Everyone in the imperium knows the emperor is a nincompoop—and yet no one wants to go out on a limb to criticize him.
—
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Paired alongside Williams and Dunst’s airheads, Ferrell plays a nincompoop Bob Woodward, but the role doesn’t give him much of a chance to cut loose.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Being a nature nincompoop may have saved him from a grisly fate.
—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Paired alongside Williams and Dunst’s airheads, Ferrell plays a nincompoop Bob Woodward, but the role doesn’t give him much of a chance to cut loose.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Being a nature nincompoop may have saved him from a grisly fate.
—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nincompoop
Noun
-
Mark Hamill has been a lunatic for years now.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
-
To get a sentence like that in a communist, radically left-wing city of liberal lunatics is truly amazing.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Predicting the future is a fool’s game.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
But don't let his calm demeanor fool you.—
Joelle Goldstein,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The scale of the headloss was best summed up by Luis Suarez attempting to reason with Messi, before the Argentine did anything on the Suarez scale of stupid.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This typically gets worse over time and is often accompanied by a harsh goose-honking cough triggered by excitement or exercise.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
-
Each spring since then, the National Park Service scrubs out a year’s worth of goose poop and other debris to keep the pool clean and the algae away.—
Joseph Konig,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Ben Rice waved his arms like a maniac on the on-deck circle.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
-
Instead of a Buffy-like television show, however, this one recreates a fictional slasher franchise called Camp Miasma, a typical homicidal-maniac-versus-horny-teens-in-the-woods series that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Friday the 13th movies.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nincompoop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nincompoop. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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