witless
/ˈwɪtləs
/adjective
1Foolish; stupid: a witless retort...
- Thus, in Mrs. Kerry's brainless and witless offhand yet pregnant remark, we hear the sick thud of the other shoe dropping.
- In fact, it seems that you are nothing more than a debunker without a basis for your witless inane statements!
- We've always had a good old chuckle at his witless expense.
Synonyms
foolish, stupid, unintelligent, idiotic, brainless, mindless, imbecilic, imbecile;
fatuous, inane, immature, childish, puerile, half-baked, empty-headed, half-witted, slow-witted, weak-minded, doltish
informal crazy, dotty, scatty, loopy, brain-dead, cretinous, thick, thickheaded, birdbrained, pea-brained, pinheaded, dopey, dim, dim-witted, dippy, blockheaded, boneheaded, lamebrained, chuckleheaded, dunderheaded, wooden-headed, muttonheaded, damfool
British informal daft, divvy
Scottish & Northern English informal glaikit
North American informal dumb-ass, chowderheaded
South African informal dof
West Indian informal dotish
1.1 [as complement] To such an extent that one cannot think clearly or rationally: I was scared witless...
- I suddenly realized how foolish I was acting, scared witless by a simple dream.
- It is used to hold thick doors open, crush particularly large spiders and scare witless those English students who have to read it.
Synonyms
out of one's mind, to death, to tears, silly, stupid, sick
Derivatives
witlessly
- I got in, enthusiastically dipped the oar in the water, forgot all about the legs, and went at it witlessly - and it showed.
- Beautiful old stone terrace houses which would have been snapped up for renovation in Australia were witlessly destroyed.
- The more we witlessly participate in this process, the more we are divided one from another.
witlessness
- In the end, however, he often ends up looking better than his graceless accusers whose venality and malice and witlessness is planned, protracted and considered, whereas his offenses are more often merely impulsive, abrupt and foolish.
- Berkeley, oblivious to anything but a total belief in her own talent, pursues her one-dimensional, absurdly caricatured role with a ferocious energy and dedication that in its witlessness is nothing if not breathtaking.
- In the evening, though, I come home to reality - as filtered through the TV - where murderers seem to vie with each other for the witlessness and triviality of their motives.
Origin
Old English witlēas 'crazy, dazed' (see wit1, -less).