SLOW-WITTED Synonyms: 161 Similar and Opposite Words

slow-witted

adjective

ˈslō-ˈwi-təd

Definition of slow-witted

as in dumb

not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily all but the most slow-witted readers will have solved the mystery long before they reach the book's final chapter

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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 slow-witted Soupy is a bit slow-witted, really bony, and awkward-looking. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Feb. 2025 Conservative media has since helped amplify the idea that Biden is a slow-witted geezer. — Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slow-witted

Adjective

Still crazy enough to do something dumb, but mature enough to curb your impulses.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
Instead of the Tech Right making the conservative movement smarter, the conservative movement seemed to be making the Tech Right dumber.

— Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026

Definition of dumb

Adjective

There are plenty of videos from Yellowstone National Park involving tourists doing breathtakingly stupid things around wild animals.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2026
Even when Romanzy goes off on how stupid and ugly Caleb is — and gossips that his parents abandoned him because something must be wrong with him — Mary goes along with it.

— Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 July 2026

Definition of stupid

Adjective

After the shooting, the victim’s car was seen on surveillance footage driving in slow circles as federal agents appeared to try and stop the vehicle.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Thus far, capital markets more broadly have been slow to respond to this threat for a variety of reasons.

— Justin Worland, Time, 18 July 2026

Definition of slow

Adjective

And that’s a lot of energy to shed as a vehicle comes blaring back into Earth’s thick atmosphere, a process that typically annihilates objects returning from space unless they are precisely designed to survive the trip.

— Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
The water drew back from the house, left a thick, stinking silt across the floor.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026

Definition of thick

Adjective

At the same time, the bath shouldn’t be tucked so deeply into dense landscaping that predators can hide nearby.

— Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 18 July 2026
With consistent use, many people also notice that regrowing hair becomes finer and less dense, making epilators an appealing alternative for anyone looking to stretch the time between hair removal sessions.

— Iman Balagam, Vogue, 17 July 2026

Definition of dense

Browse Nearby Words

slows (down or up)

slow-witted

sludge

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“Slow-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slow-witted. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of slow-witted

adjective

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