blockhead

[ blok-hed ]

/ ˈblɒkˌhɛd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR blockhead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stupid, doltish person; dunce.

Obsolete. a piece of wood in the shape of a head, used as a block for hats or wigs.

Nearby words

blockbusting, blocked, blocked shoe, blocker, blockflöte, blockhead, blockhouse, blockie, blocking, blocking activity, blocking agent

Origin of blockhead

First recorded in 1540–50; block + head

SYNONYMS FOR blockhead

1 fool, nitwit, dolt, dullard, ignoramus, booby.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR blockhead ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

block·head·ed, adjectiveblock·head·ed·ly, adverbblock·head·ed·ness, nounblock·head·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for blockhead

A person of phlegmatic disposition who is a blockhead, would, with a sanguine nature, be a fool.
The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Religion, A Dialogue, Etc.|Arthur Schopenhauer
Bale accordingly stigmatises him as an ass-headed dean, a blockhead who cared only for his kitchen and his belly.
Ireland under the Tudors, Volume I (of II)|Richard Bagwell
This blockhead flinging a miserable stick of candy in my face!
Paul and His Dog, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XIII)|Charles Paul de Kock
If a creature purblindThus pretends he can see, Will the blockhead confess himselfStupid—think ye?
Literary Fables of Yriarte|Tomas de Iriarte

He felt it impossible that she should love a profligate or a blockhead, and he knew Lord Spoonbill to be both.
Penelope: or, Love's Labour Lost, Vol. 2 (of 3)|William Pitt Scargill

British Dictionary definitions for blockhead

blockhead

/ (ˈblɒkˌhɛd) /

noun

derogatory a stupid person

Derived Forms

blockheaded, adjectiveblockheadedly, adverbblockheadedness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012