Standard Lemma guide

simpleton

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsɪmpəltən/
  • [ˈsɪmpəlthən] ~ [ˈsɪmpl̩thn̩]
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A simple-minded person lacking common sense.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a person lacking intelligence or common sense

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: simple

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul

Narrower terms: airhead, dimwit, nitwit, half-wit, doofus, dingbat, dumbbell, dummy, dope, boob, booby, pinhead, fool, sap, saphead, muggins, tomfool, idiot, imbecile, cretin, moron, changeling, retard, idiot savant, nebbish, nebbech, nincompoop, poop, ninny, scatterbrain, forgetful person, schlemiel, shlemiel, schlepper, shlepper, schlep, shlep, schnook, shnook, sheep, space cadet, square, lame, stupid, stupid person, stupe, dullard, dolt, pudding head, pudden-head, poor fish, pillock, subnormal, twerp, twirp, twit

History

Etymology

From simple + -ton (as in a surname). Compare French simplet, Italian semplicione.

Across languages

Translations

128 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: teveqel — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Albanian: leshko — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Albanian: sylesh — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Albanian: loço — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Arabic: مُغَفَّل (muḡaffal) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Arabic: سَاذَج (sāḏaj) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Arabic: مغفل (muğafal) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Arabic: ساذج (sazeg) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Iraqi Arabic: اَثْوَل — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Azerbaijani: sadəlövh — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Azerbaijani: sadədil — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Azerbaijani: safdil — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Breton: genaoueg — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Bulgarian: абда́л (abdál) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Bulgarian: глупак (glupak) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Catalan: ximplet — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Chinese Mandarin: 二百五 (ěrbǎiwǔ) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Chinese Mandarin: 傻瓜 (shǎguā) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Chinese Mandarin: 呆子 (dāizi) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Cimbrian: dikhar — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Czech: prosťáček — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Czech: hlupák — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Czech: blbeček — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Czech: moula — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Czech: trouba — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Danish: tosse — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Danish: enfoldig — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Danish: naiv — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Dhivehi: ގަމާރު (gamāru) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Dutch: simpele — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Dutch: domoor — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Dutch: idioot — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Dutch: eenvoudig — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Finnish: tomppeli — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Finnish: tyhmyri — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Finnish: hölmö — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • French: simplet — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • French: nigaud — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • French: niais — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • French: naïf — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • French: ingénu — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Galician: papón — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Galician: alpabarda — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Galician: parvo — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Galician: papaxoubas — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Galician: pastrán — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • German: Einfaltspinsel — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • German: Simpel — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • German: Naivling — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • German: naiv — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: απλοϊκός (aploïkós) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: αφελής (afelís) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: βλαξ (vlax) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: κορόιδο (koróido) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: χαζός (chazós) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Greek: μωρός (morós) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Ancient Greek: κέπφος (képphos) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Hungarian: mamlasz — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Hungarian: balek — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Hungarian: fajankó — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Irish: baothán — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Italian: sempliciotto — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Italian: semplicione — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Italian: babbeo — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Italian: minchione — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Japanese: 鈍間 (noroma) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Korean: 얼간이 (eolgani) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: blennus — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: barcala — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: bārō — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: stultus — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: fatuus — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latin: ovis — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Latvian: vientiesis — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Macedonian: простак (prostak) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Malay: pembaris — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Māori: hore — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Māori: rorirori — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Māori: rorewaru — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Māori: pōrewarewa — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Norman: bouët-bouteux — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Norman: enfuntchi — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Norman: marînjuette — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Norwegian: enfoldig — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Plautdietsch: Eefelt — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Polish: prostak — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Polish: prostaczka — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Polish: głupek — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Polish: naiwniak — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Polish: naiwniaczka — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Portuguese: simplório — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Portuguese: matarruano — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Portuguese: tolo — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Portuguese: pateta — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Portuguese: papalvo — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Romanian: prost — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Romanian: prostănac — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Romanian: tâmpit — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Romanian: naiv — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Romanian: neghiob — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: проста́к (prosták) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: простофи́ля (prostofílja) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: рази́ня (razínja) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: недотё́па (nedotjópa) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: остоло́п (ostolóp) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: наивня́к (naivnják) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: ду́ра (dúra) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Russian: дура́к (durák) — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: буда̀ла — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: глу̀пан — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: на̏ӣван — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: budàla — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: glùpan — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȁīvan — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: simplón — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: ababol — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: panoli — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: gaznápiro — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: papanatas — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: ingenuo — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: mentecato — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: mentecapto — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Spanish: bobalicón — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Swedish: dumbom — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Swedish: dummerjöns — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Turkish: avanak — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Turkish: safdil — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense
  • Turkish: keriz — simple-minded naive person lacking common sense