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Synonyms

witless

American  
[wit-lis] / ˈwɪt lɪs /

adjective

  1. lacking wit or intelligence; stupid; foolish.

witless British  
/ ˈwɪtlɪs /

adjective

  1. lacking wit, intelligence, or sense; stupid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • witlessly adverb
  • witlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of witless

before 1000; Middle English; Old English witlēas. See wit 1, -less

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.

Harry Brook's dance, swipe and miss at Mitchell Starc from his first ball seemed witless in the moment, yet it was Brook's audacity that kept England from a complete implosion.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

Yet the subtext is less important than the surface: The movie is simply a witless bore.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

His denouement arrives when he accidentally tells his audience over a hot mic that they’re a bunch of witless, contemptible rubes; they turn on him and his popularity evaporates.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2024

And it’s, hands down, one of the most witless acts perpetuated at the hands of today’s parents.

From Washington Times • Feb. 15, 2023

Not being entirely witless I got the picture that if we were going to die it wasn’t going to be from smallpox.

From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff

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.