nitwit
noun
nit·wit ˈnit-ˌwit 
: a scatterbrained or stupid person
Synonyms
- berk [British]
- booby
- charlie [British]
- charley
- cuckoo
- ding-a-ling
- ding-dong
- dingbat
- dipstick
- doofus [slang]
- featherhead
- fool
- git [British]
- goose
- half-wit
- jackass
- lunatic
- mooncalf
- nincompoop
- ninny
- ninnyhammer
- nit [chiefly British]
- nut
- nutcase
- simp
- simpleton
- turkey
- yo-yo
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Don't be such a nitwit. don't be a nitwit—wear a seat belt!
Recent Examples on the Web Dunst sleepwalks through this noxious comedy based on Toby Young’s 2001 memoir of the same name, playing a writer who takes a reluctant liking to Pegg’s infantile nitwit. 
Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2021 Like that nitwit in Mobile -- a hotbed for COVID -- who filed two bills that would make controlling the virus even more difficult. John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2021 These things get passed around via emails from one gullible and naive nitwit to the next. Tom Margenau, Dallas News, 13 Sep. 2020 One theory that has a certain elegance and simplicity is that Trump is a nitwit. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 4 July 2020 The abuse of the apostrophe by nitwits has been going on for quite some time. Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2020 Which is why more courageous states have agencies that actually protect the land and water from polluters and environmental marauders and nitwits. John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 27 Sep. 2019 Or the nitwit in Gulfport, Mississippi, who menaced shoppers at a Wal-Mart by loading and racking shells into a shotgun a few weeks ago, forcing an evacuation of the store. Kurt Eichenwald, Newsweek, 16 July 2015 This nitwit didn’t even pass his own pledge of kindness. Michael Arceneaux, The Root, 7 Sep. 2017 See More
Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2021 Like that nitwit in Mobile -- a hotbed for COVID -- who filed two bills that would make controlling the virus even more difficult. John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 2 Sep. 2021 These things get passed around via emails from one gullible and naive nitwit to the next. Tom Margenau, Dallas News, 13 Sep. 2020 One theory that has a certain elegance and simplicity is that Trump is a nitwit. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 4 July 2020 The abuse of the apostrophe by nitwits has been going on for quite some time. Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2020 Which is why more courageous states have agencies that actually protect the land and water from polluters and environmental marauders and nitwits. John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 27 Sep. 2019 Or the nitwit in Gulfport, Mississippi, who menaced shoppers at a Wal-Mart by loading and racking shells into a shotgun a few weeks ago, forcing an evacuation of the store. Kurt Eichenwald, Newsweek, 16 July 2015 This nitwit didn’t even pass his own pledge of kindness. Michael Arceneaux, The Root, 7 Sep. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
probably from German dialect nit not + English wit
First Known Use
1914, in the meaning defined above
nitwits
noun
1
as in lunatics
a person who lacks good sense or judgment don't be a nitwit—wear a seat belt! Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- lunatics
- fools
- morons
- idiots
- nuts
- geese
- ninnies
- simpletons
- jackasses
- nincompoops
- simps
- dingbats
- nutcases
- doofuses
- monkeys
- losers
- berks
- dipsticks
- turkeys
- half-wits
- gits
- cuckoos
- boobies
- charlies
- dolts
- imbeciles
- dummies
- daredevils
- knuckleheads
- mooncalves
- dopes
- nits
- ding-dongs
- ignoramuses
- charleys
- numskulls
- madmen
- blockheads
- dufuses
- featherheads
- donkeys
- dunces
- pinheads
- ninnyhammers
- numbskulls
- airheads
- madwomen
- goons
- ding-a-lings
- schlubs
- yo-yos
- know-nothings
- ignorami
- dorks
- scatterbrains
- birdbrains
- chumps
- screwballs
- dupes
- laughingstocks
- fatheads
- ganders
- characters
- kooks
- weirdos
- crackpots
- shlubs
- oddballs
- codgers
- stocks
- butts
- schnooks
- dodos
- dumbbells
- cranks
- schlemiels
- mockeries
- dodoes
- schlumps
- featherbrains
- crackbrains
- shlemiels
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- thinkers
- sages
- brains
- geniuses
- genii
2
as in morons
a stupid person an absolute nitwit as far as geography is concerned Synonyms & Similar Words
- morons
- idiots
- stupids
- lunatics
- dolts
- dimwits
- imbeciles
- dummies
- fools
- prats
- losers
- knuckleheads
- dopes
- dullards
- ignoramuses
- yahoos
- dunderheads
- boneheads
- ninnies
- numskulls
- cretins
- blockheads
- mutts
- lunkheads
- geese
- dunces
- pinheads
- chuckleheads
- nimrods
- airheads
- numbskulls
- simpletons
- loons
- jackasses
- nincompoops
- oafs
- goons
- donkeys
- meatheads
- stupes
- schlubs
- bubbleheads
- goofs
- naturals
- deadheads
- know-nothings
- clowns
- ignorami
- doofuses
- dorks
- hardheads
- birdbrains
- ratbags
- half-wits
- fatheads
- jerks
- ganders
- buffoons
- turkeys
- shlubs
- nuts
- chowderheads
- lamebrains
- noddies
- golems
- clucks
- thickheads
- dumbheads
- hammerheads
- stocks
- loggerheads
- dum-dums
- dumb clucks
- dips
- schnooks
- sapheads
- dodos
- dumbbells
- loonies
- clunks
- momes
- noodles
- nits
- lumps
- villains
- madmen
- dim bulbs
- clodpoles
- dummkopfs
- dufuses
- woodenheads
- dodoes
- cuddies
- skunks
- clodpolls
- clots
- zanies
- ninnyhammers
- skunk
- snakes
- boobies
- yo-yos
- mugs
- boors
- scatterbrains
- creeps
- cads
- beasts
- gawks
- heels
- stinkers
- curs
- churls
- featherbrains
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- brains
- geniuses
- intellectuals
- thinkers
- genii
- sages
- intellects
- wizards
- whizzes
- polymaths
- sharpies
- Renaissance men
3
as in fools
a silly flighty person a nitwit who never should have been given a position of responsibility in the company Synonyms & Similar Words
- fools
- scatterbrains
- geese
- sillies
- birdbrains
- ditzes
- cuckoos
- simpletons
- flibbertigibbets
- softheads
- featherbrains
- featherheads
- rattlebrains
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sobersides
- anchylosed
- anchyloses
- anchylosing
- anchylosis
- anchylostomiases
- anchylostomiasis
- ancien régime
- anciency
- ancienne noblesse
- ancient
- ancient demesne
- ancient history
- ancient light
- ancient murrelet
- ancient regime
- ancienter
- ancientest
- ancientlier
- ancientliest
- anciently
- ancientness
- ancientnesses
- ancientries
- ancientry
- ancients