numbskull
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of numbskull
First recorded in 1690–1700 as numpscull; current spelling first recorded in a letter by Jonathan Swift; numb + skull
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She probably thought I was a bigger numbskull than ever.
From Literature
“Don’t you know what will happen if every last bit isn’t turned to gold by morning? No wonder my brothers say you’re a numbskull.”
From Literature
“No one would believe a little numbskull like you could do it! This gold is mine!”
From Literature
Mama would say I’m being dramatic, and my numbskull little brother would toss in his unwanted two cents and agree, but I feel like my head has gotten too heavy for my neck and I just can’t hold it up anymore.
From Literature
But he is also great with comedy, as the milquetoast Charlie Driggs in Jonathan Demme's classic, "Something Wild," as the movie character who walks off the screen in Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo," and even the numbskull Harry in the hit "Dumb and Dumber."
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
