Word.ws English Dictionary

chinless wonder

chinless wonder noun: an ineffectual upper-class man, typically dim-witted and of a weak or indecisive character, frequently one who gained his position through nepotism or social connections.

Noun

chinless wonder (plural chinless wonders)

  1. (UK, derogatory, slang) An ineffectual upper-class man, typically dim-witted and of a weak or indecisive character, frequently one who gained his position through nepotism or social connections.
    • This was probably the most insufferable social event of a very dull season. The bride blushingly gave her age as forty-two, but the old battle-axe could have been an eye-witness to the San Francisco Fire. At long last, little Dagmar's folks have got her married off to Morty, the chinless wonder. He...1948, Saturday Review of Literature, volume 31, page 18
    • She is thin, starved to near perfection […] He, a chinless wonder, a credit to Carnaby Street; they stand hand in hand before the enquiry desk1967, The Assistant Librarian, volumes 60–61, page 24

Examples of chinless wonder in a sentence

  • At long last, little Dagmar's folks have got her married off to Morty, the chinless wonder.1948, Saturday Review of Literature, volume 31, page 18:
  • [Actor] John Harding personified the idle spirit of the times as a tennis-possessed chinless wonder.1979, The Spectator, volume 243, number 1, page 25:

Synonyms of chinless wonder

Forms of chinless wonder

pluralchinless wonders

Origin of chinless wonder

The term is derived from the characteristic recessive chin of some aristocrats, popularly thought to be caused by inbreeding and associated with limited intelligence, and from the idea of a robust chin being an indication of masculinity. The use of wonder is ironic.

Questions about chinless wonder

What does chinless wonder mean?
Chinless wonder means an ineffectual upper-class man, typically dim-witted and of a weak or indecisive character, frequently one who gained his position through nepotism or social connections.
How do you use chinless wonder in a sentence?
At long last, little Dagmar's folks have got her married off to Morty, the chinless wonder.
What part of speech is chinless wonder?
Chinless wonder is a noun.
What is the plural of chinless wonder?
The plural of chinless wonder is chinless wonders.

Words near chinless wonder in the dictionary

  1. Chinland
  2. Chinle
  3. Chinle Creek
  4. Chinle Wash
  5. chinless
  6. chinless wonder
  7. chinless wonders
  8. chinlessness
  9. Chinley
  10. Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside
  11. chinlike

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: chinless wonder (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “chinless wonder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/chinless_wonder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.