idiotic
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of an idiot.
-
senselessly foolish or stupid.
an idiotic remark.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of idiotic
1705–15; < Late Latin idiōticus < Greek idiōtikós private, ignorant. See idiot, -ic
Explanation
Something that's idiotic is very, very stupid. It would be idiotic to turn down your lottery winnings because you're too lazy to go claim them. An idiotic song is boring, repetitive and has ridiculous lyrics, and an idiotic TV show is badly written and terribly acted. Your dad might describe his dog as idiotic if she manages to find a skunk every single time she goes outdoors. The adjective idiotic is informal, and it comes from the Latin idioticus, "uneducated or ignorant," with the Greek root idiotikos, "unprofessional or unskilled."
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.
Plenty of people in the 1920s thought radio programming was a noisy, idiotic embarrassment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
In a rollicking monologue, Fry described all opera as comedy, tragedy merely being the result of idiotic egos incapable of levity.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
“I think it’s idiotic not to have an up-or-down vote on this issue,” Lawler told reporters after a closed-door meeting with Republican legislators.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2025
But the parade of horribles recounted by Mr. Shapiro are at once comic and terrifying: deans harassing speakers, law students defaming anyone holding divergent views, faculty obsessed with idiotic academic theories.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
