blockheadedness C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈblɑkˌhɛdɪdnəs/ UK /ˈblɒkˌhɛdɪdnəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the quality of being stupid or obtusely dull-witted His sheer blockheadedness made every explanation pointless. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the quality of being stupid... stupidityobtusenessdullnessdensenessdoltishnessthickness ↔ Opposites clevernessintelligencesharpness Word family Related forms blockheadedblockheadblock Etymology AI details From blockheaded + -ness, from blockhead ('a stupid person') + -ed. Block derives from Old French bloc or Middle Dutch blok ('log'). bloc Old French View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # blockheadedness **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈblɑkˌhɛdɪdnəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈblɒkˌhɛdɪdnəs/ ## Meanings 1. the quality of being stupid or obtusely dull-witted ## Examples - His sheer blockheadedness made every explanation pointless. ## Synonyms - stupidity - obtuseness - dullness - denseness - doltishness - thickness ## Antonyms - cleverness - intelligence - sharpness ## Related Forms - blockheaded - blockhead - block ## Roots and Affixes - Root: bloc ## Etymology From blockheaded + -ness, from blockhead ('a stupid person') + -ed. Block derives from Old French bloc or Middle Dutch blok ('log'). ## AI Etymology Blockheadedness comes from blockheaded + -ness, from blockhead ('a stupid person') + -ed. Block derives from Old French bloc or Middle Dutch blok ('log'). The historical trail runs through bloc in Old French. Morphologically, blockheadedness is transparent: it draws on blockheaded + -ness, from blockhead ('a stupid person') + -ed. Used as a noun, blockheadedness now means "the quality of being stupid or obtusely dull-witted", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as blockheaded, blockhead, and block. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown