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.
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2023
And was it enough to let us stop calling him a nincompoop?
From Slate • Dec. 11, 2019
“I had no intention of sitting on the bench like a nincompoop and watching the parade go by,” he wrote.
From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2019
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
We can claim that he was just a nincompoop or a madman.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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.
