Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

addle pate

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.66 in modern English

Syllables: ad-dle -pate
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A foolish or dull-witted person.

Archaic

noun

Such a person’s brain or mental faculties.

Archaic

Example Sentences

"Then he executed a war-dance, and at its close stepped before Crawford, regarded him for an instant, and croaked out: “Addle-pate! Addle-pate!” “Upon my word, I believe you are the foul fiend himself,” muttered Mark."
"Am I to be ramshaklt out of the super nakullums in spite o’ my teeth? Yea and go softly! I crack the nut and you eat the kernel! I tellee once again you’ve an addle pate o’ your own! [...] Squire Nincompoop!"
"“Go to bed, and don’t bother your addle pate about your neighbours. Can’t a man cut up a few sticks without your coming to investigate?”"

Etymology

From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”).

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

addle pates (plural)

Phrases

addle-pated

Frequently Paired Words

addle-pated

Questions

What does addle pate mean?: A foolish or dull-witted person.
Where does addle pate come from?: From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”).

How to pronounce addle pate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “addle pate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “addle pate”.
Repeat and practice — Say “addle pate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.