addle pate

noun

A foolish or dull-witted person.

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Meanings

nounaddle pate (plural addle pates)

plural addle pates

  1. archaicA foolish or dull-witted person.

    Then he executed a war-dance, and at its close stepped before Crawford, regarded him for an instant, and croaked out: “Addle-pate! Addle-pate!” “Upon my word, I believe you are the foul fiend himself,” muttered Mark.

    1882, Frank Lee Benedict, “Miss Alderly's Law-Suit”, in Peterson's Magazine, volumes 81-82, page 443
  2. archaicSuch a person’s brain or mental faculties.

    “Go to bed, and don’t bother your addle pate about your neighbours. Can’t a man cut up a few sticks without your coming to investigate?”

    1910, Grace S. Richmond, Red Pepper Burns
    1 more example

    Am I to be ramshaklt out of the super nakullums in spite o’ my teeth? Yea and go softly! I crack the nut and you eat the kernel! I tellee once again you’ve an addle pate o’ your own! [...] Squire Nincompoop!

    1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
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Origin

From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

addle pate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/addle%20pate

MLA

“addle pate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/addle%20pate. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “addle pate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/addle%20pate.

Source: addle pate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.