nincompoop
Americannoun
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, 2012Other Word Forms
- nincompoopery noun
- nincompoopish adjective
Etymology
Origin of nincompoop
First recorded in 1670–80; origin uncertain
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.
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
From Los Angeles Times
Frustrated with the George W. Bush administration’s response to disasters in Arkansas, he called the Federal Emergency Management Agency “an incompetent bunch of nincompoops that simply can’t run their agency.”
From Washington Times
A multinational corporation intent on protecting franchises that bring it more than $80 billion a year has thus far made its adversary look like a blustering nincompoop.
From Los Angeles Times
The famed radio host took issue with our “nation of nincompoops” during his first show back from a summer vacation on Tuesday, and pointed the finger at the former president’s base.
From Washington Times
“Pennsylvania is a parochial state. There is a pronounced east-west divide, with voters in Pittsburgh inclined to shunning Philadelphia-area candidates and voting for Pittsburgh area candidates, even if they are nincompoops.”
From Washington Times
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.
