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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But also these dumb things, from another perspective, can have a certain type of digital trashy poetry.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
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The bounty hunter kills some random dudes who are dumb enough to cross him and steals a Falka doll from some little girls who have adopted the Rats as folk heroes.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And that’s a stupid, dumb, mindless question.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
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Dessert Week is the stupidest week, at least conceptually.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Tiles also exhibited hysteresis, which was smaller at slower speeds due to the rubber’s viscoelastic properties, as reported by Nanowerk.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
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Levi, an electrical engineer who founded MicroKits in 2020, has had to raise prices, slow production and pause plans to launch a new product – Banan-a-Synth – that lets kids turn a bunch of bananas into a kind of keyboard.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That’s what made the Gators’ decision to retain Napier especially foolish.—
Blake Toppmeyer,
USA TODAY,
30 Oct. 2025
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This of course was foolish in light of the fact that trade deals are incredibly complicated and take a long time to finalize.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While House Republicans can pass legislation with a simple majority vote, Senate Republicans cannot advance most matters without meeting a 60-vote threshold.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
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But in stoppage time, Miami was gifted a third goal when Jordi Alba crossed from the left and keeper Willis, colliding with defender Walker Zimmerman, spilled the ball right to Messi, who had the simplest of tap-ins.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the picture, Diplo makes a silly face while Trudeau stares straight into the camera.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
3 Nov. 2025
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This fourth installment finds plenty to mine from Jigsaw and his diabolical traps — and yes, that silly tricycle-riding clown gets some screen time.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, the term itself was an epithet throughout the founding era, a way to describe ignorant and easily deceived popular majorities, perpetually vulnerable to demagogues.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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International students are close to entirely ignorant of Canadian history and politics.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The accusation felt absurd, like calling a chihuahua a wolf.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Oct. 2025
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In the film, which Woo wrote and directed, Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) and her little brother Elliot (Elias Janssen) journey into the wildly absurd landscape of their own dreams to ask the Sandman to grant them the perfect family.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Witless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witless. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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