simpleton
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of simpleton
Explanation
A simpleton is an idiot — a person without much common sense or intelligence. This is one of many words — such as moron, dummy, and dimwit — that insult a person's intelligence. A simpleton is the opposite of a genius. However, the word simple implies more than lack of intelligence; it suggests being innocent or naive too. So a simpleton could be considered a hillbilly or yokel as well as a dullard or dunce.
Vocabulary lists containing simpleton
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
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One for the Murphys
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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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.
Adam Hugill is similarly amusing as the defender Harry Maguire, who is portrayed as a lovable simpleton — not the sharpest tool in the box, but solid and dependable.
From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2023
And not in the simpleton type of way.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2023
Like Gump, a good-hearted simpleton, who travels through milestones in US history - the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal - Chaddha's life takes him through the cultural and political turnpikes of 20th-Century India.
From BBC • Aug. 9, 2022
A butcher and a simpleton climb a beanstalk to a giant and a hen that lays golden eggs.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2020
“Even a simpleton knows there’s two roads to Haven,” he says, his voice calm and silky, almost smirking but not quite.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
