Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who aspires to wittiness.
- noun One who has little wit.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A pretender to wit; a would-be wit.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A person who has little wit or understanding; a pretender to wit or smartness.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a person who feigns
wit , pretending or aspiring to bewitty - noun a person with little wit
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Azhiri that lack the Talent are known as witlings and occupy a lower social status ... except for Pelio, a witling since birth but afforded a higher social standing since he happens to be the Prince of the land of Summer.
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He's the underdog you root for; a victimized witling in a land of condescending Talented.
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Nay, though it well may raise a smile of ridicule (not on the lips of a grave man perhaps, but of some facetious witling) to hear me say it, a beauty like the cadence of sweet music190 dwells even in pots and pans set out in neat array: and so, in general, fair things ever show more fair when orderly bestowed.
Oeconomicus 2007
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It is certainly not John the Baptist, nor John the Evangelist, nor James the Greater, nor James the Less; he must inevitably be some witling of a Hun, to write such abominable impertinence, or some ill-conditioned, malicious
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More than one captain and more than one book on war had told Conan what his own sense said: Never trust your enemy to be a witling.
Conan and The Mists of Door Green, Roland 1995
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"And you should call your chief groom a fool, for letting into the field a witling who'll touch another's steel without asking."
Conan and The Mists of Door Green, Roland 1995
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Had the Ichiribu sent a witling to serve her and the Cimmerian?
Conan and The Gods of The Mountain Green, Roland 1993
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It was easy for Vidal to imagine what must be going on inside-easy to picture that smug, orphaned witling Keighvin Silverhair barking orders to weak mortals, marshaling them to fight.
The Chrome Borne Lackey, Mercedes 1993
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It was easy for Vidal to imagine what must be going on inside-easy to picture that smug, orphaned witling Keighvin Silverhair barking orders to weak mortals, marshaling them to fight.
Omnibus Lackey, Mercedes 1993
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Conan knew he must sound like a witling, but in this matter, he understood no more than one.
Conan and The Gods of The Mountain Green, Roland 1993
pavonine commented on the word witling
1. One who aspires to wittiness.
2. One who has little wit.
December 16, 2007
yarb commented on the word witling
"But if witlings should be inclined to attack this account, let them have the candour to quote what I have offered in my defence."
- Boswell, in Life of Johnson
January 21, 2012