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/ˈsɪmpəltən/ · noun
(informal, derogatory) A simple-minded person lacking common sense..
The stranger had crossed a sacred line. He had mentioned the men's mothers. Nothing could get him out of a beating now, even the fact that he was obviously a simpleton. Albeit a simpleton with a good vocabulary.
Baron Cohen’s new creation (and the previous ones, too) has its roots in Groucho characters like Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding, Otis B. Driftwood, and Prof. Quincy Adams Wagstaff, and the concept of a pompous simpleton running a rogue nation has obvious parallels to Duck Soup’s Rufus T. Firefly, who leads the country of Fredonia to a needless and highly preventable war.
“Doesn't matter. That man is not the leader.” “But he is the main guy on the show.” “He is an actor, Nandor. A simpleton who paints his face. He is an empty-headed puppet who thinks the world loves him, when in actual fact, he is nothing more than a lapdog begging for scraps.” [groans] “No, he is not the leader. That would be another devil who pulls the strings. The halfwit they call the director.”
Use simpleton when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Simpleton means (informal, derogatory) A simple-minded person lacking common sense..
Common synonyms include simple.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
The stranger had crossed a sacred line. He had mentioned the men's mothers. Nothing could get him out of a beating now, even the fact that he was obviously a simpleton. Albeit a simpleton with a good vocabulary.
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