1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a dog so witless that it is barely trainable
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a witless decision to relocate to the other side of the country without even the prospect of a job
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of witless
Witherspoon’s timing is whip-crack good, and Ferrell’s is, too, on a different wavelength, even when the material’s settling for surprisingly witless profanity punchlines that don’t quiiiiite qualify as actual jokes.
—
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
The federal government, in all its wisdom, is once again gearing up to save the witless American people from themselves.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
By most accounts, Trump’s ground game—powered by the witless Musk—was a bit of a mess, but Harris’s professional field operation seems to have been helpless to stem the tide of Trump’s support.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
But this latest effort, premiering on Prime Video, proves a relentlessly vulgar and witless affair that not even the talents of stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon and a comedically gifted supporting cast can rescue.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for witless
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
The federal government, in all its wisdom, is once again gearing up to save the witless American people from themselves.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
By most accounts, Trump’s ground game—powered by the witless Musk—was a bit of a mess, but Harris’s professional field operation seems to have been helpless to stem the tide of Trump’s support.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
But this latest effort, premiering on Prime Video, proves a relentlessly vulgar and witless affair that not even the talents of stars Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon and a comedically gifted supporting cast can rescue.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for witless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for witless
Adjective
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There was also, perhaps, general irritation at the idea that such a successful team should be the recipient of so much dumb luck.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025
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Many students have acted boldly, and occasionally made dumb mistakes, because they were outraged by historical wrongs, incendiary speakers, cultural stereotypes, or other provocations.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
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America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Losing is so deeply ingrained in the fabric of this franchise that every slow start has the potential to snowball.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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His administration has seen some success; inflation in Argentina eased this year to the slowest monthly pace in more than four years.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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The Eagles were undone by foolish penalties, including two flags that negated first downs on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter and one flag that extended a Broncos drive late in the game when the Eagles had forced a fourth down.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Strufe adds that while intelligence agencies or cybercriminals have simpler ways to monitor people – such as accessing CCTV cameras or video doorbells – the widespread presence of wireless networks could eventually form a near-comprehensive surveillance infrastructure.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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The simplest way to find influential people in a network is called degree centrality—just count the number of connections for each person.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But the tone swings between sour and sweet, grounded and silly, and the jokes run more broadly wacky than precise or original.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Oct. 2025
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In my eyes, much of the charm of a craft brewer is a willingness to be a little silly.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The pilot has moments both sweet and funny, and sets up the possibility of romance amongst the characters, as well as further high jinks from a rotating cast of license seekers and citizens ignorant of the requirements for a Real ID.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
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At the time, central Appalachia was widely depicted in the popular press as a backward, ignorant region whose mountainous terrain kept its people isolated, outside the flow of progress – a stereotype still common today.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The real start of the Chalamet/Marty Supreme press tour came Tuesday night when the actor shared an incredible and absurd five-minute promo video.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
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But these far-right personalities were pushing an absurd logical fallacy.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Witless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witless. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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