crackbrained
crackbrained adjective: idiotic.
Adjective
crackbrained (comparative more crackbrained, superlative most crackbrained)
- Idiotic.
- In order to ſet ſo hopeful a Genius right in this matter, vve have ſent you an anſvver to the ill-grounded Sophiſms of thoſe crack brain'd fellovvs, and likevviſe an eaſy mechanical explication of Perception or Thinking.1713–1714 (date written), Martinus Scriblerus [pseudonym; Alexander Pope et al.], “Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works, and Discoveries of Martinus Scriblerus”, in The Works of Alexander Pope...
- By degrees, Jean Paul began to be considered not a strange, crackbrained mixture of enthusiast and buffoon, but a man of infinite humour, sensibility, force, and penetration.1827, Thomas Carlyle, “Jean Paul Friedrich Richter”, in R[alph] W[aldo] E[merson], editor, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: […], volume I, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, published 1838...
- Synonyms:
- birdbrained, addlebrained, addlepated, airheaded, bee-brained, beef-witted, soft, beefheaded, beetle-headed, blockheaded
Synonyms of crackbrained
- birdbrained
- addlebrained
- addlepated
- airheaded
- bee-brained
- beef-witted
- soft
- beefheaded
- beetle-headed
- blockheaded
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- Boeotian
- boneheaded
- boofheaded
- braindead
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- buffle-headed
- bullet-headed
- cerebrally challenged
- childish
- chowderheaded
- chuckleheaded
- cretinous
- daft
- dense
- dented
- dim-bulb
- dim-headed
- dim-witted
- dim
- doltish
- dopey
- dozy
- drowsy
- dull-headed
- dull-minded
- dull-witted
- dull
- dumber than a box of rocks
- dumb
Forms of crackbrained
| comparative | more crackbrained |
|---|---|
| superlative | most crackbrained |
| alternative form | crack-brained |
| alternative form | crack brained |
Origin of crackbrained
From crack + brained. The word is centuries old, and the original imagery is of a brain that is cracked (broken), but the advent of crack cocaine produced a new surface analysis whereby the word now also suggests a crack(rock)-addled brain. But even with that difference in referents, cognation is involved regardless.
Words formed from crackbrained
Questions about crackbrained
- What does crackbrained mean?
- Crackbrained means idiotic.
- What part of speech is crackbrained?
- Crackbrained is an adjective.
Words near crackbrained in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: crackbrained (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.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “crackbrained.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/crackbrained. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.