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dolt

[dohlt]
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noun
  1. a dull, stupid person; blockhead.
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Origin of dolt

1535–45; variant of obsolete dold stupid, orig. past participle of Middle English dollen, dullen to dull
Related formsdolt·ish, adjectivedolt·ish·ly, adverbdolt·ish·ness, noun

Synonyms

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idiot, fool, clod, nitwit, dummy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for doltish

Historical Examples

  • Is it that doltish Jules, who looks an absolute fool, but may be masking his game!

    Messengers of Evil

    Pierre Souvestre

  • The common English are doltish; except in the North, where you won't do much with them.

  • You wanted me, my money, everything, and had nothing to give in return except your own doltish self.

    A Bottle of Old Wine

    Richard O. Lewis

  • I blushed at my idiocy; the idea of being so doltish and timid with a flower seller!

  • Such air as these Germans had was a blackguard air of doltish ugliness—dull, gross, incurable.

    War

    Pierre Loti

British Dictionary definitions for doltish

dolt

noun
  1. a slow-witted or stupid person
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Derived Formsdoltish, adjectivedoltishly, adverbdoltishness, noun

Word Origin

C16: probably related to Old English dol stupid; see dull
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

Word Origin and History for doltish

dolt

n.

1540s, perhaps a variant of dold "dull, foolish," influenced by dulte, dolte, past participle forms of Middle English dullen "to dull, make or become dazed or stupid" (see dull (adj.)). Related: Doltish; doltishly; doltishness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper