dull-witted

adj

"dull-witted" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dull-witted” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a dull, blunt wit or mind; unintelligent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dull-witted · dull-witted · English

dull-witted · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for dull-witted
PropertyValue
Headworddull-witted
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dull-witted” in English

dull-wittedranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dull-witted is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Having a dull, blunt wit or mind; unintelligent.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dull-witted, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dull + witted. The correct English form is dull-witted, spelled D-U-L-L---W-I-T-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a dull, blunt wit or mind; unintelligent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how dull-witted appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The second species to join the Citadel, the salarians are warm-blooded amphibians with a hyperactive metabolism. Salarians think fast, talk fast, and move fast. To salarians, other species seem sluggish and dull-witted. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.

Etymology

From dull + witted.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dull-witted"?
"dull-witted" is spelled D-U-L-L---W-I-T-T-E-D.
What does "dull-witted" mean?
As an adjective, "dull-witted" means: Having a dull, blunt wit or mind; unintelligent.
What is the origin of the word "dull-witted"?
From dull + witted. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list