1
as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment
his astounding feats of witlessness are the stuff of family legend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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 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
-
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.—
Mary Ramsey
April 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Clancy will be undergoing a forensic psychological evaluation later this week after Reddington informed the court of her intention to plead not guilty by reason of insanity at trial.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Other considerations include matching the frame to your mattress’s thickness and leaving about 24 inches of walking space around the bed.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
This technique enables precise control over the coating thickness and uniformity, potentially improving performance while reducing material usage and production costs.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The UConn men and women have created countless memories through the madness of March and onto the championships won in April.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Monthly records for the state go back to 1895, so experts know there's a lot to March's madness.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Their simplicity in dress masks their tremendous success.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Apr. 2026
-
On one hand, there’s a simplicity to the song, and yet there’s a lot of complex things going on behind it.—
Steve Appleford,
SPIN,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If not for the stupidity of Joe Biden and the Democrats, ICE would have an easier job.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Smart, skilled, hardworking people gracefully put up with all manner of tragedy, stupidity, and institutional rot.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The absurdity is that Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in California by nearly 2 to 1.—
George Skelton,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
When the couple falls into a little Noel Cowardesque riff, the play’s central confession arrives like a comic absurdity.—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.—
Jonny Thomson,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Compare that to punk rock, which used dumbness as a tactic.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This season Fears has shown both the maturity of the player who came back to discuss his actions with his head coach, and the foolishness of the hothead who responded with the hard foul.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
-
There was no foolishness tolerated from him and, of course, Magic, his lieutenant.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Witlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witlessness. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
