witless

[wit-lis]

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adjective

lacking wit or intelligence; stupid; foolish.

Origin of witless

before 1000; Middle English; Old English witlēas. See wit¹, -less

Related formswit·less·ly, adverbwit·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for witlessness

madness, craziness, absurdity, folly, frenzy, alienation, dementia, lunacy, hysteria, irresponsibility, irrationality, silliness, nonsense, idiocy, indiscretion, foolishness, recklessness, stupidity, bunk, insanity

Examples from the Web for witlessness

Historical Examples of witlessness

He's too good a fellow to turn down in his little day of witlessness.
The Helpers
Francis Lynde
Perhaps, too, she had another reason for regretting her companion's witlessness.
Archibald Malmaison
Julian Hawthorne
But so far neither avarice nor witlessness has betrayed anything.
The Unveiling of Lhasa
Edmund Candler
His intelligence might be equalled, but not his witlessness!
The Wisdom of Confucius
Epiphanius Wilson
It describes the inward shrinking and shrivelling of a depraved nature, the witlessness which results from wickedness.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Proverbs
R. F. Horton

British Dictionary definitions for witlessness

witless

adjective

lacking wit, intelligence, or sense; stupid

Derived Formswitlessly, adverbwitlessness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for witlessness

witless

adj.

Old English witleas; see wit (n.) + -less. Phrase scared witless attested from 1975. Related: Witlessly; witlessness.