noun
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the quality or state of being stupid
-
a stupid act, remark, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stupidity
1535–45; < Latin stupiditās, equivalent to stupid ( us ) stupid + -itās -ity
Compare meaning
How does stupidity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Stupidity is the quality of being stupid. It’s the opposite of intelligence. Stupidity is responsible for many acts that follow the words, “Hey, watch this!” Being stupid has to do with not understanding things, not learning from past experiences, and generally not using your brain, so stupidity refers to this quality. Saying that someone did something because of stupidity is an insult because it means the person really should’ve known better. Riding in a shopping cart tied to the back of a car and zinging around a parking lot would be the result of some serious stupidity.
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.
See Examples For:
"The main thing that can wipe out humanity is stupidity," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
That is more frightening than stupidity, which can at least be kept out of the meeting.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
That was a miscalculation, born of limitless arrogance and boundless stupidity.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
The magistrate called the incident "a single act of stupidity or frustration" when sparing him a criminal record.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
First, his general stupidity in not believing what I had told him the day before.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Previous stupidities taught me to always travel with jumper cables and an empty gas can.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 20, 2023
Long before “Don’t Look Up” or “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Beresford didn’t bother predicting the future; he simply explored the stupidities of the present.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2022
The book is a salute to them, not just a remembrance of my own stupidities.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
“There are lots of disadvantages to social media, lots of stupidities that get passed around and lots of people who criticize us players on social media,” she said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2016
Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
