dopey

adjective

dop·​ey ˈdō-pē How to pronounce dopey (audio)
variants or less commonly dopy
dopier; dopiest
1
a
: dulled by alcohol or a narcotic
2
: stupid, fatuous
dopey sitcoms
dopily adverb
dopiness noun

Examples of dopey in a Sentence

I'm still a little dopey from the painkillers. After being up all night I was pretty dopey at work.
Recent Examples on the Web In what would probably have been the Jim Carrey role back in the day, the always likeable Cena appears to be having a blast as a big, dopey screw-up who gets an unlikely shot at redemption via his new identity. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 His industry cred thus established, Reilly turned to looser, more comedic projects in the mid-2000s like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), which snagged him another Golden Golden nom and led to his casting as dopey Dale Doback in Step Brothers. Katie Rife, EW.com, 25 July 2023 The scenes that include Mohamed, brilliantly embodied in all his braggadocio and humiliation by Salim Daw, and Dodi, his doe-eyed, dopey son, are among the season’s most riveting. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023 The men are dopey and destructive; the women clever and thwarted, with all the good lines and the truly depressing fates. Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023 But the students find an acolyte in Henry’s dopey boss, Ron (Ken Marino), who dreams not of fame or fortune but of rise-and-grinding his way to managing a franchise of a soup-centric chain restaurant. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2023 The key difference, apart from their obvious size disparity, is that Gritty himself is apolitical — his big dopey face just happens to work really well in liberal memes, for reasons that don't make any logical sense but need no explanation on social media. Allison Morrow, CNN, 17 Feb. 2022 The real problem with the album is the complete lack of Hammett solos, which often translates to grueling seven-minute songs with no respite from some of the dopiest lyrics Hetfield has ever sung. Al Shipley, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2023 This is a bit dopey. BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dopey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of dopey was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near dopey

Cite this Entry

“Dopey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dopey. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dopey

adjective
dop·​ey ˈdō-pē How to pronounce dopey (audio)
dopier; dopiest
1
: dulled by or as if by alcohol or a narcotic
2
: mentally slow or silly : stupid
your dopey friends
a dopey TV show
dopiness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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