dullard

American  

[duhl-erd] / ˈdʌl ərd /

noun

1. a stupid, insensitive person.

   Synonyms:

   dummy, dumbbell, dolt, dunce

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dullard British  

/ ˈdʌləd /

noun

1. a dull or stupid person

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Etymology

Origin of dullard

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at dull, -ard

Explanation

If something isn’t sharp, it’s dull. This can apply to pencils and people — if you’re sharp, you’re a smarty-pants, but if you’re dull, you’re a dullard. It even sounds kind of dumb, dullard. Dullard is an old-fashioned word for a dumb person. If you have to explain to someone how to sit in a chair, you’re probably talking to a dullard (or a toddler). It's rude to call someone a dullard, but we all feel like dullards sometimes, especially when we make mistakes or can't understand something.

Example Sentences

In a Senate full of ambitious members, Colorado Republican Wayne Allard is so bland that his critics have dubbed him "Dullard."

From Time Magazine Archive

But she only said this to frighten Jack the Dullard: and the clerks gave a great crow of delight, and each one spurted a blot out of his pen on to the floor.

From What the Moon Saw: and Other Tales by Dulcken, H. W. (Henry William)

Dullard must he be who sees not abundance here to interest him.

From Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal; or, Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions, in Search of Sir John Franklin's Expedition, in the Years 1850-51 by Osborn, Sherard

Then he gave the knife to Collatinus and Lucretius and Valerius, and they all swore likewise, much marvelling to hear such words from L. Junius the Dullard.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 01 by Rudd, John

Dullard, not to have thought of it at once!

From The Gringos by Fischer, Anton Otto