Roget's Thesaurus

#499. Imbecility. Folly

Nouns

want of intelligence etc. 498, want of intellect etc. 450; shadowness, silliness, foolishness etc. adj.; imbecility, incapacity, vacancy of mind, poverty of intellect, weakness of intellect, clouded perception, poor head, apartments to let; stupidity, stolidity; hebetude, dull understanding, meanest capacity, shortsightedness; incompetence etc. (unskillfulness) 699. one's weak side, not one's strong point; bias etc. 481; infatuation etc. (insanity) 503. simplicity, puerility, babyhood; dotage, anility, second childishness, fatuity; idiocy, idiotism; driveling. folly, frivolity, irrationality, trifling, ineptitude, nugacity, inconsistency, lip wisdom, conceit; sophistry etc. 477; giddiness etc. (inattention) 458; eccentricity etc. 503; extravagance etc. (absurdity) 497; rashness etc. 863. act of folly etc. 699.

Verbs

to be an imbecile etc. adj.; have no brains, have no sense etc. 498. trifle, drivel, radoter, dote; ramble etc. (madness) 503; play the fool, play the monkey, monkey around, fool around; take leave of one's senses (insanity) 503; not see an inch beyond one's nose; stultify oneself etc. 699; talk nonsense etc. 497.

Adjectives

unintelligent [Applied to persons], unintellectual, unreasoning; mindless, witless, reasoningless, brainless; halfbaked; having no head etc. 498; not bright etc. 498; inapprehensible. weak headed, addle headed, puzzle headed, blunder headed, muddle headed, muddy headed, pig headed, beetle headed, buffle headed, chuckle headed, mutton headed, maggoty headed, grossheaded; beef headed, fat witted, fat-headed. weak-minded, feeble-minded; dull minded, shallow minded, lack-brained; rattle-brained, rattle headed; half witted, lean witted, short witted, dull witted, blunt-witted, shallow-pated, clod-pated, addle-pated, addle-brained; dim-sighted, short-sighted; thick-skulled; weak in the upper story. shallow, borne, weak, wanting, soft, sappy, spoony; dull, dull as a beetle; stupid, heavy, insulse, obtuse, blunt, stolid, doltish; asinine; inapt etc. 699; prosaic etc. 843; hebetudinous. childish, child-like; infantine, infantile, babyish, babish; puerile, anile; simple etc. (credulous) 486; old-womanish. fatuous, idiotic, imbecile, driveling; blatant, babbling; vacant; sottish; bewildered etc. 475. blockish, unteachable Boeotian, Boeotic; bovine; ungifted, undiscerning, unenlightened, unwise, unphilosophical; apish; simious. foolish, silly, senseless, irrational, insensate, nonsensical, inept; maudlin. narrow-minded etc. 481; bigoted etc. (obstinate) 606; giddy etc. (thoughtless) 458; rash etc. 863; eccentric etc. (crazed) 503. [Applied to actions] foolish, unwise, injudicious, improper, unreasonable, without reason, ridiculous, absurd, idiotic, silly, stupid, asinine; ill-imagined, ill-advised, ill-judged, ill-devised; mal entendu [Fr.]; inconsistent, irrational, unphilosophical; extravagant etc. (nonsensical) 497; sleeveless, idle; pointless, useless etc. 645; inexpedient etc. 647; frivolous etc. (trivial) 643.

Phrases

Davus sum non [Lat.] [Oedipus]; a fool's bolt is soon shot [Henry V.] clitellae bovi sunt impositae [Lat.] [Cicero]; fools rush in where angels fear to tread [Pope]; il n' a ni bouche ni eperon [Fr.]; the bookful blockhead, ignorantly read [Pope]; to varnish nonsense with the charms of sound [Churchill].