simpleton

[ sim-puhl-tuhn ]

/ ˈsɪm pəl tən /

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noun Sometimes Offensive.

an ignorant, foolish, or silly person.

OTHER WORDS FOR simpleton

dolt, fool, numbskull, blockhead, ninny, dope.

See synonyms for simpleton on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of simpleton

First recorded in 1640–50; simple + -ton

Words nearby simpleton

Simple Simon, simple sugar, simple syrup, simple tense, simple time, simpleton, simple transcendental extension, simple vow, simplex, simplex method, simplicidentate

How to use simpleton in a sentence

By the end, characters are either Team Anna, or they’re painted as shrews and simpletons.
Inventing Anna’s lazy girlboss revenge fantasy|Alex Abad-Santos|February 28, 2022|Vox
Unless we are simpletons, we are all to some extent paradoxes, and Lopez was both an indefatigable traveler and, as writers must be, a monastic homebody.
Remembering My Friend Barry Lopez|Bob Shacochis|January 5, 2021|Outside Online
To put it charitably, this is the jurisprudence of the simpleton.
Who to Blame for Donald Sterling and Cliven Bundy|Robert Shrum|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
George Lindsay played the lovable simpleton Goober Pyle on ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’
George Lindsay Dies: The Best of Goober Pyle (Video)|Brittany Jones-Cooper|May 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

There's some vile plot laid against Howard, but if he doesn't come clean out of it with flying colors, call me a simpleton.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various
Then he pinched Betsy's ear in his usual familiar fashion, saying as he did so, "Saucy simpleton!"
Napoleon's Young Neighbor|Helen Leah Reed
Don't talk to me as if I were a simpleton—with your own false simplifications!
The Tragic Muse|Henry James
And you ought to have kept me from making such a simpleton of myself, Edward.
The Sleeping Car|William D. Howells
The credulous simpleton already saw himself beheaded and wept in anticipation over the fate of his family.
The Reign of Greed|Jose Rizal

British Dictionary definitions for simpleton

simpleton

/ (ˈsɪmpəltən) /

noun

a foolish or ignorant person

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

simpleton

OTHER WORDS FOR simpleton

Origin of simpleton

Words nearby simpleton

Words related to simpleton

How to use simpleton in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for simpleton