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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

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?

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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
  • Rabin was killed [in 1995], that was a last straw —seeing an extremist right-wing lunatic in Israel kill Rabin and kill the dreams of peace.
    — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
  • In fact, a lunatic in Houston couldn't wait more than one game before sprinting onto the field.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of lunatic
Noun
  • The unlikely source is Enervate’s company stooge corporate strategist, Ken Davies (Tim Key), a moron by any measure.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
  • God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • Judge Judy star Judith Sheindlin famously does not suffer fools.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026
  • An oxpecker in dark plumage and a bright orange bill perched on the crown of the rhino’s head like the king’s fool.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 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
  • On a vaporetto in Venice’s Grand Canal in late May, I was forced to admit that my quest to uncover the mysteries of Northern Italy’s famed chicories bore the hallmarks of a goose chase.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Don’t throttle the goose who lays the golden eggs, don’t blast from the skies the albatross who guarantees fair winds.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of goose
Noun
  • David extended a hand toward me (imaginary attacks by slow, handshake-wielding maniacs are a martial arts class staple).
    — Johanna Stein, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Unbeknownst to the visitors, there’s an unhappy fifth party already in the house… and more than one homicidal maniac even within that small populace.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 July 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 2 Oct. 2026.

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