saphead

9.9

A person who acts like a fool and makes poor decisions

noun
/ˈsæpˌhɛd/

Offensive

: imbécil

Despite his education, he often gave saphead remarks that surprised his friends.

Examples

A union official in Providence gloated that a "good beating" administered by strike sympathizers had convinced some of the student "sapheads" to reconsider their new careers as strikebreakers.

Academic text (1994)
He showed up at the meeting without any preparation, which made everyone think he was a saphead.
They always called him a saphead for believing the con artist's stories.

Synonyms

fool

vssaphead

Offensive

∞ 1.4

A person who makes poor decisions and is easily tricked

is the more general label for poor judgment without behavior focus

dickhead

vssaphead

Offensive

67 9.9

A rude name for a person who is stupid and annoying

is the neutral way to say someone lacks good judgment and sense

sap

vssaphead

Offensive

48 9.1

A person who is easily fooled or has poor judgment

is broader and not limited to being easily tricked

bonehead

vssaphead

Offensive

43 7.9

A person who does silly things without thinking

is a general label for poor judgment without blunt insult

pinhead

vssaphead

Offensive

35 8.7

A person who makes silly mistakes

is neutral about lacking good judgment rather than highlighting ignorance

stupid person

vssaphead

Offensive

30 1.1

A person who is not very smart and often makes bad choices

is softer and more neutral than this blunt label

blockhead

vssaphead

Offensive

12 8.2

A person who is stupid or slow to understand things

is the neutral term for poor judgment not implying slowness

fathead

vssaphead

Offensive

6 8.2

A person who is foolish and not very smart

is a broader label for poor judgment without implying incompetence

lunkhead

vssaphead

Offensive

5 9.7

A person who is not very smart

is more neutral about poor judgment rather than being an insult

chowderhead

vssaphead

Offensive

3 9.9

A person who behaves in a silly or stupid way

is the general term for poor judgment not playful teasing

dunderhead

vssaphead

Offensive

3 9.1

A person who often does foolish things or makes simple mistakes

is the broader neutral phrase for lack of good judgment

hammerhead

vssaphead

Offensive

3 8.4

A rude word for someone who is not smart

is a neutral description of poor judgment not mainly an insult

jughead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

Someone who behaves in a silly or foolish way

is a neutral phrase for poor judgment not mainly slang

stupidhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.5

A childish name used to call someone silly

is a grown-up term for lacking good judgment not used playfully

featherhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 8.9

A person who is silly and often forgets things

is about poor judgment generally rather than absent seriousness

dumbhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.8

A rude word for a person who is very stupid

is the general term for poor judgment without extra intensity

muttonhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts in a silly or stupid way

is a neutral term for lacking good judgment rather than insult

knothead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts foolish or refuses to listen

is about lacking good judgment without implying stubbornness

loggerhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who is very stupid or foolish

is less insulting and used as a neutral judgment term

pudding head

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who is not very smart

is a neutral term for poor judgment without this childish tone

blubberhead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who behaves in a foolish way

is used broadly for poor judgment rather than slang insult

coconut head

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts foolishly and lacks common sense

is the broader term for poor judgment not limited to common sense

tomfool

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts silly and does not think carefully

is the general label for poor judgment beyond silly behaviour

stupid-head

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.1

A playful insult for a person who acts silly

is the neutral description of poor judgment without childish use

muggins

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who is easily tricked and used by others

is the broader idea of lacking good judgment not only gullibility

conehead

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

An insulting word for a person who does foolish things

is the neutral description of poor judgment rather than insult

lackwit

vssaphead

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who is silly and not very clever

is the current neutral word for poor judgment rather than archaic form

pudden-head

vssaphead

Offensive

9.9

A person who is not very smart

is the neutral label for lack of good judgment without informality

bum head

vssaphead

Offensive

9.9

A person who behaves in a silly or careless way

is the neutral concept of poor judgment rather than playfulness

leatherhead

vssaphead

Offensive

9.9

An insulting name for a stupid person

is the general term for poor judgment rather than a direct insult

bête

vssaphead

Offensive

9.9

A person who behaves in a foolish or thoughtless way

is the everyday neutral expression rather than this specialized name

hoghead

vssaphead

Offensive

9.9

An insulting word for a rude or stupid person

is the non-offensive term for poor judgment without coarse implication

Antonyms

genius

252 4.9

A person with very strong intelligence or creative skill

sage

39 6.8

A wise person respected for spiritual or life guidance

How Foolish

idiot

Offensive

∞ 1.2

saphead

Offensive

9.9

simpleton

Offensive

21 7.3

naive

312 4.1

Surface Forms

saphead singular

sapheads plural

Morphology

saphead = sap + head (transparent) = sap + head

Formed by the productive compound 'sap' + 'head' meaning 'a person who is a sap', which a learner can readily infer from the parts.

Etymology

Saphead joins sap, the liquid in a tree that later came to mean someone weak or easily fooled, and head, which here means 'a person', as in blockhead. So a saphead is someone who is 'soft in the head' and easy to trick.