simple-mindedness
- noun
- /ˈsɪmpəlˈmaɪndədnəs/
- Offensive
- The student's simple-mindedness was evident in her naive questions about the world.
Examples
-
This combination of simple-mindedness and cruelty is demented.
Blog text (20) -
In that, the last couple of years of the internet have eroded any sort of simple-mindedness.
Blog text (2) -
When she does, I am inevitably embarrassed about my simple-mindedness and lack of insight, a shortcoming she seems either oblivious to or willing to overlook.
Fiction book (1998) -
His simple-mindedness made it difficult for him to understand the complex situation.
-
Despite his simple-mindedness, he had a kind heart and always meant well.
Synonyms
Lack of experience or common sense that makes someone trust others easily
Being trusting and easily fooled because of little experience
A person or idea that shows little deep thought and weak feeling
Being slow to understand or notice things
A state of not understanding things quickly
Not able to understand things quickly
Slow thinking and trouble understanding new things
Being too quick to trust people and not thinking deeply
A lack of experience and knowledge about how the world works
A lack of experience and knowledge of the wider world that makes a person seem simple
A lack of noticing or understanding other people's feelings and needs
A quality of being slow to understand and making simple mistakes
A state when someone is slow to understand things
Antonyms
How Simple-Minded
- Offensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
simple-mindedness = simple-minded (transparent) = simple + mind + ed + ness
The adjective 'simple-minded' is transparently formed from 'simple' + the combining element '-minded' (having a certain mind), and adding '-ness' forms the noun denoting that quality.
Etymology
Simple-mindedness is made of simple ('not complex'), mind ('thought'), and the ending -ness ('quality'), so it literally means the 'quality of a simple mind'. That's why it describes someone who thinks in a basic, not very deep way.