1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
don't be a nitwit—wear a seat belt!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person
an absolute nitwit as far as geography is concerned
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fool
a silly flighty person
a nitwit who never should have been given a position of responsibility in the company
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 nitwit
Stan Brooks: That’s the pumping-iron term for somebody who’s kind of a nitwit.
—
Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
The nitwits were chased off by a woman from the local library board.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
This childish nitwit called the judge deciding his case a Nazi, which earned him an extra five months in the J6 choir.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2024
Dunst sleepwalks through this noxious comedy based on Toby Young’s 2001 memoir of the same name, playing a writer who takes a reluctant liking to Pegg’s infantile nitwit.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024
Or is the old guy in the golf cart supposed to be a square, privileged nitwit parroting MAGA nonsense?
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 2 May 2024
Yet the nitwits across the street, who clutter their lawn with Christmas blow-up dolls, have won the contest four years in a row.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Dec. 2023
This implies that Elizabeth, for all her intelligence and sense of duty, was as much a moral nitwit as the Duke of Windsor.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
The nitwits were chased off by a woman from the local library board.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
This childish nitwit called the judge deciding his case a Nazi, which earned him an extra five months in the J6 choir.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2024
Dunst sleepwalks through this noxious comedy based on Toby Young’s 2001 memoir of the same name, playing a writer who takes a reluctant liking to Pegg’s infantile nitwit.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024
Or is the old guy in the golf cart supposed to be a square, privileged nitwit parroting MAGA nonsense?
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 2 May 2024
Yet the nitwits across the street, who clutter their lawn with Christmas blow-up dolls, have won the contest four years in a row.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Dec. 2023
This implies that Elizabeth, for all her intelligence and sense of duty, was as much a moral nitwit as the Duke of Windsor.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitwit
Noun
-
So, no, the Heat coach does not view hope amid this latest 1-6 run as a fool’s errand.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2025
-
The uncertainty means that while there has been a degree of recovery in the TV market, planning too far ahead is a fool’s errand.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Instead, she was cast as the lovable ditz on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, which unexpectedly thrust her to a kind of teen idol status.—
Lacey Rose,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
-
Besides offering a cash prize of up to $250,000, the show can help change perception of a villain or a ditz and be a springboard for their next casting.—
Shivani Gonzalez,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
An underrated gem — not enough people have seen this top-tier season — Squirrels Trip has some fabulous vocals, very funny lyrics, a heavy dose of stupid, and an engaging story.—
Barry Levitt,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The stupid!—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 July 2021
Noun
-
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.—
Ego Nwodim,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The zoo learned of the case of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) on Tuesday after test results came back on the goose, which had died on the grounds.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2025
-
The goose appeared to have reached that altitude by a combination of flying and walking, rangers in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Egg laying behavior of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus): Data based on field video-recordings The New York Academy of Sciences.—
Cody Cottier,
Discover Magazine,
28 Jan. 2025
-
For evolutionary biologists, the term cuckoldry originated to describe cuckoo birds who lay their eggs in other species’ nests, leaving their offspring to be unknowingly raised by foster parents.—
Brooke Scelza,
Scientific American,
19 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
Duvall is a big reason why: All the film’s insights into the slipperiness of identity are there in her casually virtuosic, veritable dual performance, in which a funny flibbertigibbet loses hold of herself as the world around seems to splinter into something frighteningly new.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
-
Projects about Monroe have handled her personal life to varying degrees of success, often leaning into her flibbertigibbet persona, her struggles with addiction, and the paradox of her oozing sexuality and her little girl brokenness.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
24 Jan. 2023
Noun
-
Should former President Trump stop calling Ambassador Haley birdbrain?—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2024
-
By solving one kind of puzzle that stumped crows, though, the kids may have shown how a human mind treats problems differently than a birdbrain.—
Elizabeth Preston,
Discover Magazine,
26 July 2012
Cite this Entry
“Nitwit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitwit. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share