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.
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin awarded it one star, calling it a "fatuously graphic" and "colossally gormless" series, adding that it contained the "worst dialogue" of the year.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2023
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
“The film is dull,” offers the gormless government bureaucrat.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2017
“We can do Diss-lusion Charms now! And then,” his face split into a gormless grin, “you turned up right in front of us and said you was looking for a die-dum! What’s a die-dum?”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
