1
as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment
his astounding feats of witlessness are the stuff of family legend
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in thickness
the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind
for sheer witlessness the movie's dialogue deserves some sort of award
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of witlessness
No, but the line captures the aristocracy’s witlessness.
—
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for witlessness
Noun
-
What’s that old saying about the definition of insanity.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
-
In that case, Bojeh was found not guilty by reason of insanity and later released under conditional supervision.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Their midweight thickness offers enough cushion for miles of walking through the streets of New York City, without causing sweat.—
Ali Faccenda,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The thickness of this layer causes light interference effects, giving the fabric a vivid purple appearance similar to the colors seen in soap bubbles.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Set into motion by an innocuous wish, the James family is forced to explore their generational differences, intra-marital conflicts, raging hormones, and professional anxieties, in a complicated web of body-swapping madness.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The documentary focuses on the inhabitants of Antarctica, and captures an apparent moment of madness within a colony of Adélie penguins, who endure scathingly harsh conditions in the icy wasteland.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The third, set in prehistoric times, is dazzling in its simplicity and dramatic rigor, and could’ve easily done without the others.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The low-to-the-ground shoe was overall a showcase of streamlined simplicity with its lack of embellishment and glove-like fit.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
My love of the theater and my love of the people who dedicate their life to creativity and the kind of highs and lows of that life, and the silliness and stupidity of that life, and the moments of elegiac grace.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
-
History suggests that the proficient cruelty of such regimes is unable to compensate for the stupidity and incompetence of their cadres.—
Elizabeth Tsurkov,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the comedians also used those laughs to reveal the fundamental absurdity of violence and conflict.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Rather than focusing solely on superpowers, the series leans into the absurdities and insecurities of the entertainment industry, pulling back the curtain on fame, failure, and second chances.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Compare that to punk rock, which used dumbness as a tactic.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Navarro devoted a chapter to the seductive foolishness of protectionist trade policies.—
Ian Parker,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
-
The captain of the boat Zoë and Sarah came on watches them from afar, shaking his head at English foolishness.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Witlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witlessness. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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