nincompoop
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- nincompoopery noun
- nincompoopish adjective
Etymology
Origin of nincompoop
First recorded in 1670–80; origin uncertain
Explanation
Calling someone a nincompoop is like calling them a fool, idiot, bonehead, or dope. It's definitely not a compliment. Nincompoop is a silly-sounding word that's also kind of old-fashioned, like ninny. No one has any solid idea where it came from, and anyone who claims otherwise is, well, a nincompoop. By definition, nincompoops are dumb, foolish, and can't do anything right. But there are far worse things you could call someone who's behaving like an idiot. Maybe this old-timey insult deserves a revival?
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A multinational corporation intent on protecting franchises that bring it more than $80 billion a year has thus far made its adversary look like a blustering nincompoop.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2023
And was it enough to let us stop calling him a nincompoop?
From Slate • Dec. 11, 2019
Higher courts, and history, ultimately vindicated John Sirica’s belief that he shouldn’t be “sitting on the bench like a nincompoop and watching the parade go by.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 18, 2018
Pretty soon the goal is sinking each other, proving once and for all that the other person is a complete nincompoop.
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2017
But nincompoop or not, she would have to report to him if she worked for the Navy.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
