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Synonyms

witless

American  
[wit-lis] / ˈwɪt lɪs /

adjective

  1. lacking wit or intelligence; stupid; foolish.

witless British  
/ ˈwɪtlɪs /

adjective

  1. lacking wit, intelligence, or sense; stupid

"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

Other Word Forms

  • witlessly adverb
  • witlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of witless

before 1000; Middle English; Old English witlēas. See wit 1, -less

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.

Harry Brook's dance, swipe and miss at Mitchell Starc from his first ball seemed witless in the moment, yet it was Brook's audacity that kept England from a complete implosion.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

Yet the subtext is less important than the surface: The movie is simply a witless bore.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Some descriptions of the “My Humps” cover from male critics: not funny, smug, witless, self-conscious, pop music cannibalism, dreadful and completely missing the point.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024

What’s most troubling about this witless mishmash of whiny, infantile philosophizing and bone-crunching violence is the increasing realization that it actually thinks it’s saying something of significance.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2023

The cherry bomb had scared them witless, except for Ernie, who was witless anyway.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

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.