nitwit

American  

[nit-wit] / ˈnɪtˌwɪt /

noun

1. a slow-witted, stupid, or foolish person.

   Synonyms:

   booby, dunce, dolt, blockhead, fool

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nitwit British  

/ ˈnɪtˌwɪt /

noun

1. informal a foolish person

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Etymology

Origin of nitwit

First recorded in 1920–25; nit (from German; dialectal variant of nicht “not”) + wit ¹ (in the sense of “intelligence”)

Example Sentences

The message was later changed to remove “nitwits,” and to tell people that a 10% processing fee applied to payments made in pennies.

From Washington Times

Dasch wasn't impressed with many of them, calling them "a bunch of nitwits."

From Literature

“Maybe that’s why the movie is so popular. Because here’s a mastermind fighting a nitwit.”

From Los Angeles Times

But new viewers don’t identify with those characters; instead, they see in them their parents, whose HBO login they stole, or the rich friend’s parents whose login they stole, or just some yuppie Boomer nitwits.

From New York Times

Ayesha has some phenomenal material as a ride share driver who deals with nitwits by blasting them out of her car with death metal played.

From Salon