chiefly British
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily a comedy show that invariably portrays the British aristocracy as a bunch of gormless twits

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of gormless Much like bad prose, his gormless suits draw far too much attention to themselves. Hazlitt, 19 Dec. 2024 Much of the movie unfolds inside the suburban Connecticut mansion where Lily lives with her gormless mother (Francie Swift) and her loathsome stepdad. Justin Chang, latimes.com, 8 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gormless
Adjective
  • Some of the replies were the usual stupid snark on social media from people who thrive on being negative.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2025
  • The premise itself is both deeply stupid and incredibly clever (the sweet spot, really).
    Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 July 2017
  • Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.
    Andy Benoit, The MMQB, 10 July 2017
Adjective
  • The cut is also gaining ground on the Adult Contemporary chart, only at a much slower pace, which is not unusual for that list.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Morgan Stanley also highlighted risks such as weaker consumption and a slower pace of enterprise digitalization.
    Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Styled by Dani Levi, Kardashian wore a simple floor-length bodycon gown from Balenciaga Couture.
    Mikelle Street, WWD, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Yellow is the simplest, and purple is the most difficult.
    New York Times Games, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Using smaller ducks ensures the meat isn’t too fatty, and the skin isn’t too thick.
    Jenn Rice, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
  • But the real key is that the pillow is thick enough to work perfectly as a stand-alone sleep piece.
    Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Preview Robert De Niro's Netflix thriller 'Zero Day' is a starry but dull dud: Review Patrick Schwarzenegger is 'White Lotus' Season 3 breakout, and dad Arnold is pumped Donnie Wahlberg is heading to 'Blue Bloods' Boston spinoff Ralph Macchio and William Zabka were 'Karate Kid' rivals.
    Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
  • This portable, rollerball serum can be used twice a day on dull, uneven, and post-blemish skin.
    Iman Balagam, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2025

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“Gormless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gormless. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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