gormless
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Alternative spellings
[edit] Etymology
From English dialectal gorm + suffix -less. Originally from Proto-Germanic *gaum- (“‘understand’”). The ‘r’ found in this spelling is a vowel-lengthening device common in non-rhotic dialects of English.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /ˈgɔːmləs/
- Audio (US)help, file
[edit] Adjective
gormless (comparative more gormless, superlative most gormless)
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- (chiefly British, of a person) Lacking intelligence, sense or discernment, often implying lack of capacity of will to remedy the condition.
- (British) Inexperienced, naïve, innocent to the point of foolishness.
[edit] Quotations
- 1845, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, ch xxi
- Did I ever look so stupid: so gormless as Joseph calls it?
- 1988, Roald Dahl, Matilda, p4
- But Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood were both so gormless and so wrapped up in their own silly little lives that they failed to notice anything unusual about their daughter.
- 1990, Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures, p171
- There was a sort of gormless unstoppability about him that she found rather fascinating.
- 2007, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p125
- “Hmm. Made an excuse, did he? Not as gormless as he looks in press photographs, then. […]”
[edit] Synonyms
- (lacking intelligence): dull, slow, stupid
- (inexperienced): inexperienced, naive
