dullard C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈdʌlɚd/ UK /ˈdʌləd/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a slow-witted or stupid person The professor had no patience for the dullard at the back of the room. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a slow-witted or stupid person doltblockheadduncesimpletonfoolnumbskullignoramus ↔ Opposites geniussagewit Word family Related forms dulldullness Etymology AI details From Middle English 'dullard', from 'dull' + the pejorative suffix '-ard'. 'Dull' is from Old English 'dol' ('foolish, dull'). dol Old English -ard Old French View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # dullard **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈdʌlɚd/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈdʌləd/ ## Meanings 1. a slow-witted or stupid person ## Examples - The professor had no patience for the dullard at the back of the room. ## Synonyms - dolt - blockhead - dunce - simpleton - fool - numbskull - ignoramus ## Antonyms - genius - sage - wit ## Related Forms - dull - dullness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: dol - Root: -ard ## Etymology From Middle English 'dullard', from 'dull' + the pejorative suffix '-ard'. 'Dull' is from Old English 'dol' ('foolish, dull'). ## AI Etymology Dullard is from Middle English 'dullard', from 'dull' + the pejorative suffix '-ard'. 'Dull' is from Old English 'dol' ('foolish, dull'). The ancestry passes through Old English dol and Old French -ard. In present use as a noun, it means "a slow-witted or stupid person", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dull and dullness. Its contrast set includes genius, sage, and wit, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word. The surrounding word family keeps the same base visible in dull and dullness, showing how the headword belongs to a larger cluster rather than standing alone. ## Topics - People & Society markdown