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witless

[wit-lis]
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adjective
  1. lacking wit or intelligence; stupid; foolish.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for witlessness

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for witlessness

witless

adjective
  1. lacking wit, intelligence, or sense; stupid
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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper