Meanings
comparative more unintelligent · superlative most unintelligent
- Not intelligent.
"That young girl," he added unexpectedly, "is one of the least benightedly unintelligent organic life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting."
1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 138Synonyms: addlebrained, addlepated, airheaded, bee-brained, beef-witted, soft, beefheaded, beetle-headed
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot intelligent.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁n̥tér
- Proto-Italic*n̥ter
- Latininter
- Latininter-
- Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
- Proto-Indo-European*léǵeti
- Proto-Italic*legō
- Latinlegō?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂leg-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂légeti
- Proto-Italic*legō?
- Latinintelligō
- Latinintelligēns
- Middle Frenchintelligent
- Englishintelligent
- Englishunintelligent
From un- + intelligent.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀσύνετος
- ἀσύνετος (asúnetos)not intelligent
Catalan inintel·ligent
- inintel·ligentnot intelligent
Danish uintelligent
- uintelligentnot intelligent
French inintelligent
- inintelligentnot intelligent
Italian inintelligente
- inintelligentenot intelligent
Spanish ininteligente
- ininteligentenot intelligent
Swedish ointelligent
- ointelligentnot intelligent
Cite this entry
unintelligent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unintelligent
“unintelligent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unintelligent. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unintelligent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unintelligent.
Source: unintelligent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.