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
  • 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
Noun
  • Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026
  • Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.
    Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
  • Unlike caviar, though, Chinese foie gras will also face headwinds in America as animal-rights activists continue fighting to get the duck and goose liver banned.
    Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 13 July 2026
  • The scribe carefully inscribed each line with a quill made from a goose feather, while their other hand wielded an erasing knife used to sharpen the quill and scrape away any mistakes.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 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
  • Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026
  • The Martin Lawrence vehicle Martin, which ran for five glorious seasons, offered a terrific platform for Lawrence to run around like a maniac as an energetic radio DJ.
    Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026
Noun
  • But no, sillies: Bradley is white, famous and pretty — no jail time for her!
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2025
  • 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 17 Jul. 2026.

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