thickheadedness C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˌθɪkˈhɛdɪdnəs/ UK /ˌθɪkˈhɛdɪdnəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the quality of being stupid or slow to understand His sheer thickheadedness made explaining the simplest rule exhausting. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the quality of being stupid... stupidityobtusenessdullnessdensenessslowness ↔ Opposites clevernessintelligencesharpness Word family Related forms thickheadedthick-headedthickhead Etymology AI details From thickheaded (thick + headed, conveying a dense or dull head) + the abstract-noun suffix -ness. thicce Old English heafod Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # thickheadedness **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˌθɪkˈhɛdɪdnəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌθɪkˈhɛdɪdnəs/ ## Meanings 1. the quality of being stupid or slow to understand ## Examples - His sheer thickheadedness made explaining the simplest rule exhausting. ## Synonyms - stupidity - obtuseness - dullness - denseness - slowness ## Antonyms - cleverness - intelligence - sharpness ## Related Forms - thickheaded - thick-headed - thickhead ## Roots and Affixes - Root: thicce - Root: heafod ## Etymology From thickheaded (thick + headed, conveying a dense or dull head) + the abstract-noun suffix -ness. ## AI Etymology Thickheadedness is from thickheaded (thick + headed, conveying a dense or dull head) + the abstract-noun suffix -ness. Important recorded forms include thicce (Old English) and heafod (Old English). Morphologically, the native -ness suffix turns an adjective or quality word into an abstract noun naming the state or condition. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers the quality of being stupid or slow to understand. The wider family includes related words such as thickheaded, thick-headed, and thickhead. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown