knuckleheaded

as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily a knuckleheaded attempt to increase efficiency that only succeeded in making things worse

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knuckleheaded
Adjective
  • Camp, stupid, joyful—to both own and access—Labubu has taken over.
    Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 31 May 2025
  • This is just stupid how successful this is, but that’s really underselling it.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 July 2017
  • Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.
    Andy Benoit, The MMQB, 10 July 2017
Adjective
  • Strain into a highball glass, while simultaneously adding the club soda together in one slow stream to achieve the fluffy, towering fizz.
    Jillian Dara, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • And while the Canadian industry made early gains to close a gender gap in the film and TV industry, making strides in advancing and promoting talent from underrepresented Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities has been slower and more incremental.
    Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2025
Adjective
  • White is easy, simple, and many times, the best choice for a clean slate.
    Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 5 June 2025
  • Ahead of the most important game of the year, Luke Esquivel said the key to a strong performance will be simple.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 June 2025
Adjective
  • In her papers, there were thick scrapbooks of Christmas cards, many from fellow-celebrities—Berg clearly adored Christmas.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
  • Jane is heard asking the male escort to wear a condom, but is interrupted by Combs, whose voice appears thick and slurred, as music pulsed in the background.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2025
Adjective
  • And jingoism, idiotic, is not patriotism.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 Mar. 2025
  • But, here, the characters suffer from the horror film syndrome of making one idiotic decision after another because that’s what the film requires to send the action in its intended direction.
    Scott Phillips, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Knuckleheaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knuckleheaded. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.

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