gormless

Definition

Lacking intelligence, sense or understanding; foolish.

Etymology

From dialectal English gaum (“heed, attention”) + -less (“without”), from Old Norse gaum, from Proto-Germanic *gaumaz, *gaumō (“heed, attention”). The ‘r’ found in this spelling is a vowel-lengthening device common in non-rhotic dialects of English.

Example Sentences

• "Did I ever look so stupid: so gormless as Joseph calls it?"
• "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."
• "There was a sort of gormless unstoppability about him that she found rather fascinating."