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dingbat

dingbat

4 9.2
A person who is silly and not thinking clearly
  • noun
  • /ˈdɪŋˌbæt/
  • Offensive
: tonto
  • She can be such a dingbat sometimes, always losing her keys and forgetting important dates.

And then Scarlett Johansson plays this dingbat party girl, really spaced out chick, right?

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Examples

  • We have got to get this dingbat out of office!

    Blog text (28)
  • He's a real dingbat.

  • You think my dingbat wife could have written that?

  • Oh, yeah, I'm such a dingbat.

  • I know, but sometimes you just have those dingbats who go, Hey, it was me.

  • He's not just some dingbat I found on the Strip, man.

  • No, you don't know what you're doing here, you ditzy blonde scatterbrained dingbat!

  • The desert has always been the abode of dingbats, visionaries, and half-crazed fools.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The dingbat forgot where she parked her car, causing her to search for hours.

  • It was typical of him to act like a dingbat during serious meetings, making everyone laugh.

Synonyms

dickhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
80 9.9

A rude name for a person who is stupid and annoying

is milder, meaning silly or empty headed rather than highly offensive
booby
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
76 8.1

A person who is not very smart or acts silly

is more about being silly or empty headed rather than ignorant
doofus
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
34 8.0

A person who acts silly or seems not very smart

is a plain informal term for being silly or empty headed
joker
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
23 3.7

A person who behaves foolishly or annoyingly

is used for a general silly or empty headed quality rather than one action
airhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
16 8.8

A person who is silly and not very smart

is mainly about being silly or empty headed rather than unfocused
gomer
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
14 9.9

A person who acts silly or clumsy and makes others laugh

is the general informal term for empty headedness rather than clumsiness
nimrod
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
10 9.2

A person who behaves foolishly and who others often insult with this word

is the plain informal label for empty headedness rather than insult or joke
tosser
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
7 9.9

A rude person who is annoying or stupid

is milder, meaning only silly or empty headed rather than contemptible
chucklehead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
7 9.1

A person who is silly and acts foolishly

is the plain informal label for being silly or empty headed
doof
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
4 9.9

A person who acts in a silly or foolish way

is the broader informal name for being empty headed or silly
eejit
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person who does something foolish

is the general informal term not confined to those dialects
jughead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
3 9.9

Someone who behaves in a silly or foolish way

is the simple informal label for being silly or empty headed
wacker
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person who acts foolishly or oddly

focuses on plain silliness or empty headedness rather than oddness
chowderhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person who behaves in a silly or stupid way

is the basic informal term for being empty headed rather than a comic name
dummkopf
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A rude name for a person who is very silly or not smart

is a milder informal word for being silly or empty headed
bubble-head
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
2 9.5

A person who is silly and not serious

is the straightforward informal name for empty headed behaviour
bobo
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
2 9.8

A person who behaves in a silly or foolish way

is milder and used for playful silliness rather than insult
dumdum
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
2 8.8

A person who acts in a silly or foolish way

is the general informal label for being silly or empty headed
featherbrain
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
2 8.7

A person who is silly and not very bright

is used for being silly or empty headed rather than mild stupidity
barney
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 8.8

A person who behaves in a silly or foolish way

is the simple informal term for being silly or empty headed
featherhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 8.9

A person who is silly and often forgets things

is the general term for empty headed silliness rather than distractibility
dumbhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.8

A rude word for a person who is very stupid

is milder, meaning silly or empty headed rather than very stupid
potato head
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 8.4

A person who behaves in a foolish or silly way

is the standard informal term for empty headed behaviour rather than a playful nickname
galah
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A silly or foolish person used as an Australian insult

is the general informal term used outside Australian speech
coconut head
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who acts foolishly and lacks common sense

is used for light silliness or empty headedness rather than poor judgment
divvy
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A foolish person who makes simple mistakes

is the general informal term used more widely than in Britain
nar
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who behaves in a silly way

is used for light silliness or empty headed behaviour rather than deep dullness
bum head
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who behaves in a silly or careless way

is the general informal term for being silly or empty headed
bunyip
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A silly or foolish person in Australian English

is the general informal word for being silly or empty headed
blubberhead
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who behaves in a foolish way

is a general informal term for empty headed behaviour rather than slang only
whangdoodle
vsdingbat
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who acts in a silly, playful way

is mainly about plain empty headed silliness rather than eccentricity
ditzy
vsdingbat
  • Informal
1 8.7

A person who is silly and a little forgetful

is the general informal term for empty headed silliness rather than distractibility
noddy
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who behaves in a silly way

is the broader informal term used outside that British slang
cheese monkey
vsdingbat
  • Slang
1 9.9

A person who acts silly and playful

is the broader informal term for being silly or empty headed
McStupid
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A rude slang name for someone who acts foolish or makes silly mistakes

is the neutral informal label for being silly or empty headed
fribble
vsdingbat
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A silly person who does not act seriously

is a modern informal label for simple empty headed behaviour
timberdoodle
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A foolish or awkward person

is the standard informal label for being silly or empty headed
dingling
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who acts silly or foolish

is the general informal term rather than slang only
tumshie
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
9.9

A foolish person who does silly things

is the general informal term not tied to Scottish dialect
pudden-head
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who is not very smart

is used for light silliness or empty headedness rather than lasting low intelligence
flapdoodle
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who says or does silly things

is used for someone who is simply silly or empty headed rather than nonsense speaker
baka
vsdingbat
  • Offensive
9.9

A foolish or silly person used as an insult

is the general informal English term, not a borrowed insult

Antonyms

694 4.9

A person with very strong intelligence or creative skill

How Silly

idiot
  • Offensive
∞ 1.2
fool
  • Offensive
∞ 1.4
airhead
  • Offensive
16 8.8
dingbat
  • Offensive
4 9.2
silly
  • Informal
40 7.4

Surface Forms

dingbat singular
dingbats plural

Etymology

Dingbat began as a playful name for a small, odd object or a little printed ornament — basically a 'thing' with no real name. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine someone as a small, silly 'thing': people started calling odd or empty-headed people dingbats, which is why today it means a silly person.