idiotic

adjective

variants also idiotical
Definition of idioticnext
as in dumb
having or showing an inability to understand or make sensible choices He ended up making millions from an idea that many had dismissed as idiotic. I'm afraid I said some really idiotic things yesterday.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 idiotic Along for the ride is his fawning, idiotic buddy Stevie (Steve Little). — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026 Covering politics today is a grim dance between the vicious and the idiotic, between repulsion and despair. — Megan McArdle, Washington Post, 10 May 2026 Think of the costs of an idiotic war that could have covered universal childcare and college tuitions. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026 The biggest is Theroux’s overly tanned and idiotic tech billionaire Benji Barnes, who is dating Emily (Emily Blunt) after recently divorcing his cool wife Sasha Barnes (Lucy Liu) and leaving her with billions. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for idiotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiotic
  1. dumb
  2. ridiculous
  3. irrational
  4. ignorant
  5. unreasonable
  6. unreasoning
Adjective
  • The friends aren’t dumb; they’ve just been baked for so long that acting dumb is a habit.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Perhaps in writing it, Salinger was trying to negotiate whether his remarkable survival through some of the war’s worst gauntlets could be chalked up to dumb luck, or divine intervention.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of dumb
Adjective
  • Related Stories The film follows a woman facing menopause who turns to a folk healer who draws her into a series of increasingly ridiculous rituals, driving her to the edge of madness in search of her own liberation.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
  • So coach Matt Logan decided to do something even more ridiculous with his playcalling.
    — Caleb Otte, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of ridiculous
Adjective
  • But the question remained unsolved for polygons with irrational angles.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, the argument goes, today's spending is irrational because the hardware would need to be replaced too frequently to generate an attractive return on investment, known as ROI.
    — , CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • Mamdani’s ignorant opinion illustrates Kissinger’s concern, relying on emotional display rather than the facts.
    — Daniel Kolkey, Oc Register, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Howard Bryant's comparison this week between Cunningham's comments and Colin Kaepernick's protests was both ignorant and desperate.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of ignorant
Adjective
  • The Saturday order said that expecting LeVota’s attorneys to adequately prepare for trial before April would be unreasonable and that denying the request could interfere with his right to effective legal representation.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2026
  • In her lawsuit, Phyllis Zorn said the raid violated protections for a free press, safeguards against unreasonable searches by law enforcement and a federal law that limits searches and seizures of journalists' materials.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • Roosevelt surely understood that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear cannot be eradicated.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of unreasoning

Browse Nearby Words

idiot boxes
idiotic
idiotproof
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Idiotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiotic. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on idiotic

Nglish: Translation of idiotic for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All