simpleton

noun

sim·​ple·​ton ˈsim-pəl-tən How to pronounce simpleton (audio)
: a person lacking in common sense

Examples of simpleton in a Sentence

The instructions were so complicated I felt like a complete simpleton. his silly antics at office parties have earned him a reputation as a simpleton
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Gamble, seeing there was no way to get anywhere with the chancellor playing the simpleton, opened the floor to softball questions. Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024 Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons. Marilynne Robinson, Harper's Magazine, 1 July 2022 All three of his major poetry-writing heteronyms, with their distinctive and incompatible orientations to life—a holy simpleton of a shepherd, a moody naval engineer, and a stoical medical student turned Latin instructor—are impressive modern poets, as is Pessoa under his own name. Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021 His competition was Forrest Gump, a feel-good studio drama that located America’s soul in a sweet simpleton played by Tom Hanks. Michael Schulman, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2023 See all Example Sentences for simpleton 

Word History

Etymology

simple entry 1 + -ton (as in surnames such as Washington)

First Known Use

circa 1630, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of simpleton was circa 1630

Dictionary Entries Near simpleton

Cite this Entry

“Simpleton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simpleton. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

simpleton

noun
sim·​ple·​ton ˈsim-pəl-tən How to pronounce simpleton (audio)
: a person lacking in common sense

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