witless

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"witless" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“witless” is uncommon English (frequency #65,639 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,639
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking wit or understanding; foolish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-witless · witless · English

witless · rank #65,639 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,639
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wireline

Nearest frequency peer: wireline (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “witless”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “witless” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for witless
PropertyValue
Headwordwitless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#65,639
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “witless” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). witless lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

witless is uncommon English at frequency #65,639 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for witless, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English witles, from Old English witlēas (“senseless; witless”), from Proto-Germanic *witjalausaz (“witless”), equivalent to wit + -less. Cognate with Swedish vettlös (“senseless; witless; wild”), Icelandic vitlaus (“senseless; witless; foolish;… The correct English form is witless, spelled W-I-T-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lacking wit or understanding; foolish.
  2. 2
    Indiscreet; not using clear and sound judgment.
  3. 3
    Mindless, lacking conscious thought or the capacity for it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Then will we march to all thoſe Indian Mines, My witleſſe brother to the Chriſtians loſt: And ranſome them with fame and vſurie.
  2. To be his whore, is witles; Out upon't;

Etymology

From Middle English witles, from Old English witlēas (“senseless; witless”), from Proto-Germanic *witjalausaz (“witless”), equivalent to wit + -less. Cognate with Swedish vettlös (“senseless; witless; wild”), Icelandic vitlaus (“senseless; witless; foolish; mad”).

Antonyms

witful

This word in other languages

stupide(Français)sinnfrei(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "witless"?
"witless" is spelled W-I-T-L-E-S-S.
What does "witless" mean?
As an adjective, "witless" means: Lacking wit or understanding; foolish.
What is the origin of the word "witless"?
From Middle English witles, from Old English witlēas (“senseless; witless”), from Proto-Germanic *witjalausaz (“witless”), equivalent to wit + -less. Cognate with Swedish vettlös (“senseless; witless; wild”), Icelandic vitlaus (“senseless; witless... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "witless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wieland#65,634Watling#65,624voiding#65,618vlogger#65,616

What to do next

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  • Usage frequency rank #65,639 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list