half-wit

[ half-wit, hahf- ]

/ ˈhælfˌwɪt, ˈhɑf- /

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See synonyms for half-wit on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who is feeble-minded.

a person who is foolish or senseless; dunderhead.

OTHER WORDS FOR half-wit

2 blockhead, dolt, fool, nitwit, dope, dummy, dimwit.

See synonyms for half-wit on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of half-wit

First recorded in 1670–80

Words nearby half-wit

half-wave plate, half-wave rectifier, halfway, halfway house, half Wellington, half-wit, half-witted, half-year, hali-, halibut, Haliç

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use half-wit in a sentence

Eric Garcetti succeeded Villaraigosa and has received high marks in his first year and a half on the job.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
My dad was a sailor, and all through my childhood he was away half of the time at sea, and to an extent I have a similar job.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As a result, training squadrons—called Formal Training Units (FTU)—are being staffed with less than half the people they need.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says|Dave Majumdar|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Travel Noire fellows earned about a half million travel miles in 2014.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Murders in the City of Angels have fallen by about half in the last 10 years: no small feat for such a big city.
America’s 2014 Murder Capital|Brandy Zadrozny|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Hilda, trembling at the door, more than half expected Mr. Orgreave to say: "You mean, she's invited herself."
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
We had six field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed wit twice the usual number of horses.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
All changes are to be Rang either by walking them (as the term is) or else Whole-pulls, or Half-pulls.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman

British Dictionary definitions for half-wit

halfwit

/ (ˈhɑːfˌwɪt) /

noun

a feeble-minded person

a foolish or inane person

Derived forms of halfwit

halfwitted, adjectivehalfwittedly, adverbhalfwittedness, 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