nitwit

[nit-wit]

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noun

a slow-witted, stupid, or foolish person.

Origin of nitwit

1920–25; nit (< German; dialectal variant of nicht not) + wit¹(in the sense of ‘intelligence’)

Synonyms for nitwit

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fool, blockhead, dolt, dunce, booby.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for nitwit

fool, dummy, cretin, dunce, jerk, blockhead, bonehead, imbecile, ninny, pinhead, simpleton, numskull, ignoramus, moron, nincompoop, dumbbell, dimwit, dork, halfwit

Examples from the Web for nitwit

Contemporary Examples of nitwit

Under our current nitwit sequester policy, government cutbacks continued to drag down growth.
The Misuse and Meaning of GDP
Robert Shapiro
April 27, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for nitwit

nitwit

noun

informal a foolish person

Word Origin for nitwit

C20: perhaps from nit 1 + wit 1

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

Word Origin and History for nitwit

"stupid person," 1922, probably from nit "nothing," from dialectal German or Yiddish, from Middle Low German (see nix) + wit (n.).