gormless
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does gormless mean? Gormless is a slang word meaning stupid, dull, or clumsy. Gormless is typically applied to people (and sometimes their actions). It is chiefly used in the U. K. Example: I feel totally gormless whenever I make a silly mistake like that.
Etymology
Origin of gormless
First recorded in 1740–50; respelling of earlier gaumless, from Northern English and Scots dialect gaum “heed, attention” (from Old Norse gaumr ) + -less
Vocabulary lists containing gormless
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is the least intentional of this trio of gormless, spray-and-pray LPs but perhaps the most layered and ambitious.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
The Guardian described it as a "gormless lifestyle filler" while The Telegraph gave it two stars and branded it "insane" and an "exercise in narcissism".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025
Even gormless corporations try to get in on the act, like when Disney attempted a Mickey Mouse/“Unknown Pleasures” mash-up in 2012, causing people to ask — Is this real?
From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2019
I left that interview unsure whether I’d met the “real” Clement and McKenzie or an extension of the gormless act.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2018
Apparently I’ve got a reputation for being quiet and a bit weepy—in a word, they think I’m gormless.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
