Witless

adj

adj ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Lacking wit or understanding; foolish.

    "Then will we march to all thoſe Indian Mines, My witleſſe brother to the Chriſtians loſt: And ranſome them with fame and vſurie."

  2. 2
    Indiscreet; not using clear and sound judgment.
  3. 3
    Mindless, lacking conscious thought or the capacity for it.

    "Rage warps my clearest cry To witless agony."

Adjective
  1. 1
    (of especially persons) lacking sense or understanding or judgment wordnet
  2. 2
    (used as complement) to the utmost degree wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
a stranger toabnormalapishasinineasleepass-brained

Example

More examples

"Then will we march to all thoſe Indian Mines, My witleſſe brother to the Chriſtians loſt: And ranſome them with fame and vſurie."

Etymology

From Middle English witles, from Old English witlēas (“senseless; witless”), from Proto-Germanic *witjalausaz (“witless”), equivalent to wit + -less. Cognate with Swedish vettlös (“senseless; witless; wild”), Icelandic vitlaus (“senseless; witless; foolish; mad”).

Related phrases

witless wonder

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.