doltishness
A student's doltishness was clear when he tried to pour water from a pitcher with the lid still on.
Definition
Noun: The quality or state of being a dolt; stupidity, dullness, or lack of intelligence.
Usage Examples
- (His extreme slowness or foolishness.)
- (His consistent lack of good judgment.)
- (His inability to grasp basic points.)
Advanced Usage
- "sheer doltishness": Used to emphasize the magnitude of the stupidity.
- It was sheer doltishness to leave the door unlocked in that neighborhood. (Complete and total foolishness.)
- "an act of doltishness": A specific instance of foolish behavior.
- Forgetting the meeting time was yet another act of doltishness. (A particular example of stupidity.)
Variants and Related Words
- Dolt (n): a stupid person.
- He is such a dolt that he cannot tie his own shoes. (A foolish, slow-witted individual.)
- Doltish (adj): stupid or foolish.
- His doltish expression revealed his confusion. (Showing a lack of intelligence.)
- Doltishly (adv): in a stupid or foolish manner.
- He doltishly repeated the same mistake. (In a way that shows lack of sense.)
Synonyms
- Stupidity: lack of intelligence or common sense.
- Foolishness: lack of good sense or judgment.
- Obtuseness: slowness to understand or perceive.
- Denseness: thickness of mind; inability to grasp ideas quickly.
Antonyms
- Intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge.
- Cleverness: mental sharpness and quick understanding.
- Astuteness: sharpness of judgment.
Related Idioms
- "Thick as a brick": extremely stupid or slow-witted.
- He is thick as a brick; no amount of explanation helps. (Very doltish.)
- "A few cards short of a full deck": lacking intelligence or mental sharpness.
- Her doltishness makes her seem a few cards short of a full deck. (Not fully mentally capable.)
Notes on Usage
- "Doltishness" is a somewhat formal or literary term, often used with a tone of mild contempt or exasperation. It is less common in everyday conversation than "stupidity" or "foolishness."