half-witted

Definition of half-wittednext
1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily the young genius mastered calculus while his peers, who seemed half-witted in comparison, labored over basic addition and subtraction

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-witted
Adjective
  • Rock and pop are often unsophisticated, or downright dumb.
    Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Urban infrastructure, after all, is still pretty dumb—forcing robotaxis to be designed around transit systems that are decades old.
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Hatosy’s Titus is the Danforths’ disappointing fail son and the actor keeps his face in a delightfully foolish little pout.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Your fast response and decisive actions prevented this foolish criminal act from endangering the rest of the county.
    Christa Swanson, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Of course, sometimes the situation is more serious than stupid.
    Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress.
    Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • And the hour-long results that premiere on the platform Friday are a mix of the cerebral and silly that audiences have come to expect from the Problemista filmmaker and former Saturday Night Live writer.
    Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Now, though, to look only at coaches with UNC already on their resume would be silly.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Affecting the first two receptors means retatrutide may help suppress appetite and slow digestion, which can help users feel full after eating even smaller meals.
    Daryl Austin, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Long train rides and other slow travel between places offer exactly the meditative in-between space your nervous system is craving.
    Kirah Tabourn, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Which is an absurd list of options for a kid who barely played high school ball.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The question of whether California should abolish property taxes almost seems absurd.
    Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Build buffer time, trim one commitment, then return to the itinerary with even gentler expectations and a simpler packing list.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Parents, guardians, aunts and uncles don't have time to read every book on the shelf while trying to pick something for the young reader in their life, so here are some simple ways to determine if a book is suitable for that child.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Some celebrities have gotten mad at him about the interactions, and some of them laugh about it with him.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Us senior surfers need to stick together to hold off the hordes of nasty agro kidbots that are violently intent on world domination and the spread of nuclear surf rabies and mad Red Bull disease.
    Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster