as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
the show's amateur sleuth always has to explain to the dim-witted police chief who really committed the murder
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Recent Examples of dim-witted
Comedian Al Campbell played a dim-witted commentator with the ludicrous name Barry Shitpeas.
—
Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Admittedly, laying off development staff to pay investors that fund publishing is a bit like cutting off your legs while trying to escape from a rampaging lion, but most of the people in publishing management are rather dim-witted.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Written and produced by John Hughes, the irreverent and indelible holiday staple follows an 8-year-old who must defend his family’s sprawling Chicago home from two dim-witted robbers after his family members accidentally abandon him while en route to their Christmas vacation in Paris.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
Hybrids are also, to put it bluntly, a bit dim-witted.
—Rebecca Heisman, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
But what held your interest was the anti-spectacle of a tough little punk band blazing through songs about big-hearted losers and dim-witted politicians.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2024
It must be said that wrong CEOs are not dim-witted or evil.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2024
Laszlo, like the rest of the characters, is hilariously dim-witted, which feels like a rarity right now when antiheroes and dark comedy rule television.
—Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Aug. 2024
Even with the original performances of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried to live up to, Renée Rapp and Avantika shine as queen bee Regina George and her dim-witted lieutenant Karen, and Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho gives outsider Janis a livelier presence than the sarcastic Lizzy Caplan did.
—Josh Bell, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025
Admittedly, laying off development staff to pay investors that fund publishing is a bit like cutting off your legs while trying to escape from a rampaging lion, but most of the people in publishing management are rather dim-witted.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Written and produced by John Hughes, the irreverent and indelible holiday staple follows an 8-year-old who must defend his family’s sprawling Chicago home from two dim-witted robbers after his family members accidentally abandon him while en route to their Christmas vacation in Paris.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
Hybrids are also, to put it bluntly, a bit dim-witted.
—Rebecca Heisman, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
But what held your interest was the anti-spectacle of a tough little punk band blazing through songs about big-hearted losers and dim-witted politicians.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2024
It must be said that wrong CEOs are not dim-witted or evil.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2024
Laszlo, like the rest of the characters, is hilariously dim-witted, which feels like a rarity right now when antiheroes and dark comedy rule television.
—Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Aug. 2024
Even with the original performances of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried to live up to, Renée Rapp and Avantika shine as queen bee Regina George and her dim-witted lieutenant Karen, and Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho gives outsider Janis a livelier presence than the sarcastic Lizzy Caplan did.
—Josh Bell, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dim-witted
Adjective
-
Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
-
Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Adjective
-
Republicans have blasted Democrats over the years for talking down to people, with several arguing the average voter does not like to feel stupid.—
Rachel Schilke,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
1 Feb. 2025
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That’s the one thing that gets me is when my players are hurt on stupid plays like that.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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On the day of the shipwreck, the Pacific made slow progress through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, laboring against a strong headwind toward the open sea.—
Joel Sams,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 Jan. 2025
-
The fires have highlighted the slow disaster of the region’s aridification — and the challenges even the most committed environmentalist politicians face amid climate change.—
Sammy Feldblum,
The Dial,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The way this works is relatively simple in concept; TVs and computer software have done it for decades.—
Michael Justin Allen Sexton,
PCMAG,
24 Jan. 2025
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As long as a biopsy is done and it’s recognized early, there’s a very high chance of cure with very simple and minimally invasive procedures.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Clad in a thick fur coat, Alaskan sled-dog musher Gunnar Kaasen stood next to the hero of the moment: Balto, a Siberian husky who’d helped deliver medicine across a frozen frontier to halt a deadly epidemic.—
David Kindy,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Jan. 2025
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To make a quick raspberry compote, mix 2 cups of frozen raspberries with 1/4 cup of raspberry jam and cook over medium heat until thick.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The allegation might have risen above ignorant innuendo if Lyman had tried to show any evidence that the governor, the mayor or the port commissioner had anything to do with the container ship striking the bridge.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
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Steph Curry was ignorant of the NBA history at stake.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
3 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near dim-witted
Cite this Entry
“Dim-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dim-witted. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
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