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
She looked down at the gold tube, frowning, then looked up at my bland, gormless grin.
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.
