1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
don't be a nitwit—wear a seat belt!
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person
an absolute nitwit as far as geography is concerned
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fool
a silly flighty person
a nitwit who never should have been given a position of responsibility in the company
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Example Sentences
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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
At one point, in the role of a former C.I.A. agent, Walter Lloyd, Hackman stubs a gun under the nose of a hapless nitwit from the agency who has been sent to protect Walter and his family.
—
Anthony Lane,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
The nitwits were chased off by a woman from the local library board.
—
Neal Rubin,
Detroit Free Press,
25 July 2024
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
At one point, in the role of a former C.I.A. agent, Walter Lloyd, Hackman stubs a gun under the nose of a hapless nitwit from the agency who has been sent to protect Walter and his family.
—
Anthony Lane,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
The nitwits were chased off by a woman from the local library board.
—
Neal Rubin,
Detroit Free Press,
25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitwit
Noun
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The lunatics are running the asylum.
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Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and other lunatics round out the cast.
Noun
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Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
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LluÃs then calls Puig Antich a moron.
Noun
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Don’t let the cream’s $8 price tag fool you; the anti-aging find tackles fine lines, wrinkles, and clogged pores, all while being gentle enough for all skin types.
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This is an ignoble war making monsters and fools out of its participants, and against the uncontrollable weapons that are dragons, everyone’s resolve is crumbling.
Noun
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Each morning, the city's street-flusher truck cleans goose droppings from the riverfront concrete walkway, but officials said the equipment cannot remove droppings left on grassy areas.
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Was there pressure on you as this goose whose golden eggs were all going to Apple?
Noun
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My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.
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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.
Noun
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There’s a tramp, a ditz, a bad boss, a hippie, a by-the-book good girl.
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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.
Noun
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Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
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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.
Noun
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But no, sillies: Bradley is white, famous and pretty — no jail time for her!
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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.
Cite this Entry
“Nitwit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitwit. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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