Stupid — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun /ˈstü-pəd/ stu·pid

Meaning & Definition of Stupid

Stupid (adjective)

  1. slow of mind, obtuse
  2. given to unintelligent decisions or acts, acting in an unintelligent or careless manner
  3. lacking intelligence or reason, brutish

Stupid (noun)

  1. a stupid person

Stupid (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

    "we watched as the stupid squirrels tried unsuccessfully to find a way to get the seeds from the new bird feeder"

    "there are no stupid questions"

    similar: airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
    related: cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable
    opposite: apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
    near: ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound, logical, rational, reasonable, valid

  2. causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest

    "I can't believe we sat through the whole stupid movie"

    similar: arid, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying
    related: aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless, blank, earthbound, gray, inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular, annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating, longsome, palling, draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing, debilitating, enfeebling, demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting, common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid, cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky
    opposite: absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting
    near: amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous, sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous, animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling, amusing, diverting, entertaining, moving, poignant, touching, alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating, mesmerizing, spellbinding, suspenseful, arresting, provocative, tantalizing

  3. showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment

    "not liking the captain is a stupid reason to quit the team"

    similar: absurd, asinine, balmy, barmy (chiefly British), batty, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackbrained, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, fool, foolish, fruity (slang), gaga, half-baked, half-witted, harebrained, inept, insane, jerky, kooky, loony, loony tunes, lunatic (informal), lunkheaded, mad, meshuga, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, tomfool, unwise, wacko, wacky, weak-minded, witless, zany, out to lunch
    related: airheaded, birdbrained, boobish, brain-dead, chowderheaded, chuckleheaded, clueless, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, feebleminded, gormless (chiefly British), idiotic, imbecile, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, mindless, moronic, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thoughtless, thick, thickheaded, unintelligent, vacuous, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, nonrational, surd, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, weak, farcical, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous, notional, buffoonish, clownish, ill-advised, unconsidered, unreasoned
    opposite: judicious, prudent, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, sound, wise
    near: brainy, bright, clever, intelligent, smart, logical, rational, reasonable, valid, well-advised

Stupid (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a stupid person

    "a genius at math, but a total stupid when it came to his love life"

    similar: airhead, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, bubblehead, chowderhead, chucklehead, clodpoll, clot (British), cluck, clunk, cretin, cuddy (British dialect), deadhead, dim bulb (slang), dimwit, dip, dodo, dolt, donkey, doofus (slang), dope, dork (slang), dullard, dum-dum, dumbbell, dumbhead, dummkopf, dummy, dunce, dunderhead, fathead, gander, golem, goof, goon, half-wit, hammerhead, hardhead, idiot, ignoramus, imbecile, jackass, know-nothing, knucklehead, lamebrain, loggerhead (chiefly dialect), loon, lump, lunkhead, meathead, mome (archaic), moron, mug (chiefly British), mutt, nimrod (slang), nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit (chiefly British), nitwit, noddy, noodle, numskull, oaf, pinhead, prat (British), ratbag (chiefly Australian), saphead, schlub (slang), schnook (slang), simpleton, stock, stupe, thickhead, turkey, woodenhead, yahoo, yo-yo, dumb cluck
    related: booby, buffoon, fool, goose, loony, madman, nut, zany, loser, gawk, featherbrain, scatterbrain, beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cur, heel, jerk, skunk, snake, stinker, villain
    opposite: brain, genius
    near: intellect, intellectual, sage, thinker, whiz, wizard, polymath, Renaissance man, sharpie

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Stupid

The most common words with a similar meaning to Stupid:

Slang: dorky, fruity, dim bulb, doofus, dork, nimrod, schlub, schnook
Chiefly British: gormless, barmy, mug, nit
British: clot, prat
Informal: lunatic
British dialect: cuddy
Chiefly dialect: loggerhead
airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Stupid

Words with the opposite meaning of Stupid:

apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart, absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting, judicious, prudent, sagacious, sage, sane

Related Words for Stupid

cretinous, feebleminded, boobish, idiotic, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable, aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless, blank, earthbound, gray

Near Antonyms of Stupid

ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, savvy, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd

Word Forms of Stupid

Derived words: stupidly (adverb), stupidness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Stupid

Middle French stupide, from Latin stupidus, from stupēre to be numb, be astonished type:1

First known use: circa 1541

Frequently Asked Questions about Stupid

What does "Stupid" mean?

"Stupid" means slow of mind, obtuse. As an an adjective and a noun, it is defined as: slow of mind, obtuse. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Stupid"?

Other words for "Stupid" include airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded and chuckleheaded. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Stupid" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Stupid"?

There are 309 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Stupid". Common alternatives include airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense and dim.

What is a slang word for "Stupid"?

Slang words for "Stupid" include dorky, fruity, dim bulb, doofus, dork and nimrod.

What is the opposite of "Stupid"?

Antonyms of "Stupid" include apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent and intelligent. Near antonyms include ingenious, resourceful, acute and astute.

How do you use "Stupid" in a sentence?

Examples of "Stupid" in a sentence: "we watched as the stupid squirrels tried unsuccessfully to find a way to get the seeds from the new bird feeder"; "there are no stupid questions"; "I can't believe we sat through the whole stupid movie".

Is "Stupid" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Stupid" can be used as an adjective and a noun, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Stupid"?

"Stupid" is pronounced /ˈstü-pəd/ and divided into syllables as stu·pid.