to be a dickwad
- phrasal verb
- /bi ə ˈdɪkˌwɑd/
- Offensive
- His rude comments at the party made everyone think he was being a dickwad.
Examples
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If you keep being a dickwad to your coworkers, no one will want to help you.
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There’s no need to be a dickwad—just listen to what they have to say.
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She told him not to be a dickwad about the situation and just accept the decision.
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Don't be a dickwad at the party!
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He can really be a dickwad sometimes.
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She tends to be a dickwad when she doesn't get her way, frustrating her friends.
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Don't be a dickwad by interrupting others while they are speaking.
Synonyms
Treating other people in an unkind, harsh way
To behave rudely or meanly toward other people
Behave rudely and selfishly, ignoring other people's feelings
To act rudely and annoy other people
To behave in a rude, stupid way
To act in a foolish way
Behave in a very rude and insulting way to other people
Behave in a very rude and thoughtless way that upsets other people
To behave very rudely and make other people angry or upset
To behave in a very foolish and rude way
Behave rudely and selfishly and annoy other people
Behave in a rude, annoying, and foolish way toward other people
Behave in a rude and stupid way
To behave in a rude and annoying way
To behave in a rude and annoying way
To behave in a rude and hurtful way to other people
To act in a rude and unhelpful way
To act selfishly and treat other people badly
Act in a rude, annoying way toward other people
To act in a rude, annoying way that other people dislike
To behave in a rude or foolish way that annoys other people
To behave rudely and foolishly in a way that annoys or embarrasses people
To behave in a silly or annoying way
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
be + a + dickwad
The copular frame 'be a' is fully compositional, but the noun 'dickwad' is an informal/slang insult whose meaning is not transparently derived from literal parts. A learner who knows 'dick' may infer an insulting sense, yet the exact nuance and formation are slangy and unpredictable for a B1 learner, giving only partial predictability.
Etymology
Be a dickwad may come from joining dick (a rude word for a selfish or stupid person) and wad (a small, useless lump), giving a silly, insulting image. Thinking of someone as a small, useless lump makes the insult stronger, so today be a dickwad means 'to act rude, annoying, or foolish'.