nincompoop

noun

ˈnin-kəm-ˌpüp How to pronounce nincompoop (audio)
Definition of nincompoopnext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in moron
a stupid person who wants a nincompoop as a business partner?

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
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 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
  1. lunatic
  2. moron
  3. fool
  4. stupid
  5. goose
  6. maniac
Noun
  • As a Spurs fan, I was particularly invested in Campbell in an England shirt and recall charging around the living room like a lunatic before the reality that it had been chalked off hit home.
    — The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 18 June 2026
  • The lunatics are running the asylum.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
Definition of lunatic
Noun
  • God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026
  • Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • Don’t let the thin sole fool you though, the structure is still quite supportive and keeps your feet cushioned.
    — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026
  • Being a gent or a supplicant wasn’t the same as being a fool, though.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of fool
Noun
  • My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.
    — Alex Crippen, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Problem is, even people who know baseball don’t know baseball, which makes betting on baseball stupid.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Definition of stupid
Noun
  • The shows featured a continuous storyline surrounding her string of black pearls being lost and found, sending her on a goose chase that began with The Nanny and continued into Can’t Hurry Love, Murphy Brown and High Society.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
  • Critics see further expansion as risking the life of the goose that lays golden eggs.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of goose
Noun
  • The Destroyer accelerates with the single-minded wilfulness of a homicidal maniac.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 July 2026
  • Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026
Definition of maniac

Browse Nearby Words

nimrods
nincompoop
nincompoopery
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Cite this Entry

“Nincompoop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nincompoop. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of nincompoop for Spanish Speakers

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