gormless

Gormless is a slang word meaning stupid, dull, or clumsy.

Gormless is typically applied to people (and sometimes their actions). It is chiefly used in the U.K.

Example: I feel totally gormless whenever I make a silly mistake like that.

The first records of gormless come from the 1880s. It is a variant of the word gaumless, which has the same meaning and has been in use since at least the 1700s. Gaumless comes from the Scottish and Northern English word gaum, meaning “attention.” That means someone who’s considered gormless is definitely not a person who’s known for paying close attention to things.

Writers in the 1800s and into the 1900s associated the word with the Northern English dialect. Emily Brontë used gaumless in her 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. Poet Edwin Waugh used the word in 1861, spelling it gawmbless. By the 1880s, the spelling gormless began to be used, and the word eventually became slang throughout the U.K. It is typically used to describe someone who has done something hopelessly stupid. It can also be used in a self-deprecating way when the boneheaded person is oneself. (Not you, though. You’ve got gorm to spare.)

What are some other forms of gormless?

• gormlessness (noun)
• gormlessly (adverb)

What are some synonyms for gormless?

• gaumless
• feckless
• witless
• boneheaded
• dimwitted

What are some words that share a root or word element with gormless? 

• helpless
• thoughtless
• heedless

What are some words that often get used in discussing gormless?

• stupid
• clumsy
• dull
• hopeless

Gormless is a slang word, so it’s usually used in informal conversation. It’s mainly used in the U.K.

If "gormless" is a dispositive attribute in a person, is "full of gorm" a compliment?

— Hairier 51 (@thirtyt) February 17, 2020

An obvious Brexiter has just said to his friend on the train

"Corona Virus is another reason why leaving the EU is good idea. We can shut our borders and Germany can't force us to open them"

I actually pity him, the gormless sap.

— Richard (@Richardmassey82) February 13, 2020

What do you mean I look gormless? #rude pic.twitter.com/huD7OYvPMs

— Toby 🐾🐾 (@MurphyandToby) February 15, 2020

Which of the following sentences uses gormless correctly?

A. Getting a new computer was a really gormless idea: it instantly improved the office’s efficiency.
B. That office chair is really comfortable and gormless.
C. He’s so gormless he can’t even manage to add up the totals properly.