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dimwit

/ˌdɪmˈwɪt/
IPA guide

Other forms: dimwits

A dimwit is a person who's not very smart. If you catch your friend sending a text message while he's driving, you can yell at him to put his phone down and call him a dimwit.

No one wants to be called a dimwit, since it implies incompetence and a low IQ — it's important to use this word carefully to avoid offending someone. Still, when your brother leaves a pizza unattended in a room with his two big dogs, you'll probably have to say, "Well of course they ate it, you dimwit." The word was coined in the US, as 1920s college slang.

Definitions of dimwit
  1. noun
    a stupid incompetent person
    synonyms: doofus, half-wit, nitwit
    see moresee less
    type of:
    simple, simpleton
    a person lacking intelligence or common sense
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