nincompoop
noun
nin·com·poop
ˈnin-kəm-ˌpüp 
ˈniŋ-
plural nincompoops
informal
nincompoopery
ˈnin-kəm-ˌpü-pə-rē
noun
ˈniŋ-
Each day's news seems to bring ever more horrific stories of greed, incompetence, arrogance, excess, deceit … and inconceivable nincompoopery …
—
The Hightower Lowdown
The Hightower Lowdown
Synonyms
Examples of nincompoop in a Sentence
The people running that company are a bunch of nincompoops!
quit acting like a nincompoop, because I know you are smarter than that
Recent Examples on the Web
With all due respect, those people are nincompoops.
—Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2024
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
One wonders what those worthless nincompoops would have done during the Nazi holocaust that murdered upward of seven million Jews, and over seven million more victims besides.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 26 Oct. 2023
The film’s younger guys dress in fake fur and act like Neanderthals, while the middle-aged men who have jobs are portrayed as incompetent nincompoops.
—Susan Pinker, WSJ, 21 Sep. 2023
Joshua Echebiri, as a nincompoop of a Slender; David Ryan Smith, playing the simperingly pretentious Doctor Caius; Angela Grovey, sympathetically devious as Mama Quickly and Kyle Scatliffe, as a gallant Mister Page.
—Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2021
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.
Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2024
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
One wonders what those worthless nincompoops would have done during the Nazi holocaust that murdered upward of seven million Jews, and over seven million more victims besides.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 26 Oct. 2023
The film’s younger guys dress in fake fur and act like Neanderthals, while the middle-aged men who have jobs are portrayed as incompetent nincompoops.
—Susan Pinker, WSJ, 21 Sep. 2023
Joshua Echebiri, as a nincompoop of a Slender; David Ryan Smith, playing the simperingly pretentious Doctor Caius; Angela Grovey, sympathetically devious as Mama Quickly and Kyle Scatliffe, as a gallant Mister Page.
—Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near nincompoop
Cite this Entry
“Nincompoop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nincompoop. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share