English Explanatory Dictionary

gormless

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Lacking intelligence, sense or understanding; foolish.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡɔːmləs/ en-us-gormless.ogg en-au-gormless.ogg

Word forms

gormless more gormless most gormless gaumless gawmless

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.

Synonyms

dull slow stupid ignorant inexperienced naive

Related words

gorm gormy

Derived words

gormlessly gormlessness
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