1
as in cuckoo
a silly flighty person
those birdbrains who eagerly adopt every fad diet that comes along
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in moron
a stupid person
some birdbrain left the water running
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of birdbrain
Should former President Trump stop calling Ambassador Haley birdbrain?
—
CBS News, 18 Feb. 2024
By solving one kind of puzzle that stumped crows, though, the kids may have shown how a human mind treats problems differently than a birdbrain.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2012
Some cowardly birdbrain dropping Ku Klux Klan fliers in a quiet, suburban neighborhood may not be earth-shattering news.
—Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2018
Calling someone a birdbrain meant there wasn’t much going on upstairs.
—National Geographic, 15 May 2016
Calling someone a birdbrain meant there wasn’t much going on upstairs.
—National Geographic, 15 May 2016
CBS News, 18 Feb. 2024
By solving one kind of puzzle that stumped crows, though, the kids may have shown how a human mind treats problems differently than a birdbrain.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2012
Some cowardly birdbrain dropping Ku Klux Klan fliers in a quiet, suburban neighborhood may not be earth-shattering news.
—Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2018
Calling someone a birdbrain meant there wasn’t much going on upstairs.
—National Geographic, 15 May 2016
Calling someone a birdbrain meant there wasn’t much going on upstairs.
—National Geographic, 15 May 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for birdbrain
Noun
-
Egg laying behavior of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus): Data based on field video-recordings The New York Academy of Sciences.—
Cody Cottier,
Discover Magazine,
28 Jan. 2025
-
For evolutionary biologists, the term cuckoldry originated to describe cuckoo birds who lay their eggs in other species’ nests, leaving their offspring to be unknowingly raised by foster parents.—
Brooke Scelza,
Scientific American,
19 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
The zoo learned of the case of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) on Tuesday after test results came back on the goose, which had died on the grounds.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2025
-
The goose appeared to have reached that altitude by a combination of flying and walking, rangers in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
An underrated gem — not enough people have seen this top-tier season — Squirrels Trip has some fabulous vocals, very funny lyrics, a heavy dose of stupid, and an engaging story.—
Barry Levitt,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The stupid!—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 July 2021
Noun
-
Instead, she was cast as the lovable ditz on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, which unexpectedly thrust her to a kind of teen idol status.—
Lacey Rose,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
-
Besides offering a cash prize of up to $250,000, the show can help change perception of a villain or a ditz and be a springboard for their next casting.—
Shivani Gonzalez,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Both arenas are designed around performers, sometimes made to look the fool and other times a noble voice of the people, but where one lands always depends on the moment in which a joke or plea is delivered.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
15 Feb. 2025
-
Don’t let the shiny patent black leather fool you, though.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.—
Ego Nwodim,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Stan Brooks: That’s the pumping-iron term for somebody who’s kind of a nitwit.—
Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2024
-
The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost.—
Neal Rubin,
Detroit Free Press,
25 July 2024
Noun
-
Duvall is a big reason why: All the film’s insights into the slipperiness of identity are there in her casually virtuosic, veritable dual performance, in which a funny flibbertigibbet loses hold of herself as the world around seems to splinter into something frighteningly new.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
-
Projects about Monroe have handled her personal life to varying degrees of success, often leaning into her flibbertigibbet persona, her struggles with addiction, and the paradox of her oozing sexuality and her little girl brokenness.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
24 Jan. 2023
Articles Related to birdbrain
Cite this Entry
“Birdbrain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birdbrain. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share