Definition of nitwitnext
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as in fool
a silly flighty person a nitwit who never should have been given a position of responsibility in the company

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 nitwit Occasionally, some nitwit will play chicken with the offending lane changer, get in front of him or her, and stop the car in the middle of the road to continue with verbal and nonverbal critique of the offender’s driving skills. — Oc Register, 18 May 2026 In each show, the two nitwits would set out on some caper, which would inevitably go horribly wrong, leaving them broke, or tied up, or in jail, or hanging over a cliff, or some other situation of great peril. — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026 The plot involves risqué photos of someone in the royal family being used as collateral, and poor Terry and his nitwit crew were tricked into trying to steal these from the bank instead of money. — Mike Ryan, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025 The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost. — Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitwit
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
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
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
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
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
Noun
  • There’s a tramp, a ditz, a bad boss, a hippie, a by-the-book good girl.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Rather than stay pigeonholed as a ditz, Simpson (who just released new music for the first time in 15 years) went on to launch her own fashion brand, which hit $1 billion in sales in 2015 and is still going strong today.
    — EW Staff, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
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
Noun
  • The glamorous Emmy winner known for Loewe red-carpet looks and starring on prestige dramedy The Bear is returning to full-bore silly in order to play America’s favorite beagle.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
  • It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
    — Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nitwit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitwit. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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