225 Substitutes for the R-Word

Often, when asked not to use the R-word, defensive speakers will reply, "You can't say anything these days!" But people, that's just a failure of imagination. Many, many, many substitutes for that offensive slur against individuals with intellectual disabilities are just a thesaurus away. In fact, I'll make it even easier than that -- in these pages, I'll share 225 words that can easily stand in for the R-word and make your vocabulary less limited.

For some thoughts as to why this is important, view the PSAs created by the Special Olympics R-word campaign at r-word.org. While you're there, take the pledge to stop using the R-word and grab a graphic like the one above to spread the word.

Still concerned this respect thing is going to cramp your linguistic style? Move on to the next page to see some of the many, many words still at your disposal.

First, a selection of words to substitute for the R-word when you want to be self-deprecating. Fill in the blank with one of the 75 choices below.

"I am such a(n) ______________"

1. airhead
2. birdbrain
3. blockhead
4. blunderer
5. bonehead
6. boob
7. bubblehead
8. buffoon
9. bungler
10. butterfingers
11. child
12. chowderhead
13. chucklehead
14. clod
15. clodhopper
16. clown
17. crackpot
18. cuckoo
19. damn-fool
20. dim bulb
21. dimwit
22. ding-a-ling
23. ding-dong
24. dingbat
25. dip
26. dipstick
27. dodo
28. donkey
29. doofus
30. dope
31. dolt
32. dork
33. dullard
34. dumbbell
35. dum-dum
36. dunce
37. dunderhead
38. fathead
39. featherhead
40. fool
41. goof
42. goofball
43. goose
44. ignoramus
45. incompetent
46. jerk
47. joke
48. jughead
49. know-nothing
50. kook
51. lamebrain
52. lightweight
53. loser
54. lowbrow
55. lummox
56. lump
57. lunkhead
58. meathead
59. nincompoop
60. ninny
61. nitwit
62. noob
63. numskull
64. oaf
65. ox
66. pudding head
67. scatterbrain
68. schlub
69. schnook
70. screwball
71. slug
72. turkey
73. yahoo
74. yokel
75. yo-yo

But what if you want to insult someone else's actions or acuity instead? The words above might do, yet you're certainly not limited to them. Continue to the next page for 75 words that can keep you from obsessively using the R-word even though it makes you look like a bubbleheaded buffoon.

The R-word plus -ed often seems like an indispensable adjective to those unwilling to stretch their vocabularies, but in fact there are many many other ways to brand someone as foolish in their actions without slurring individuals with intellectual disabilities. Try these 75 on for size:

1. absent-minded
2. addled
3. addleheaded
4. airheaded
5. anile
6. birdbrained
7. blockheaded
8. blundering
9. boneheaded
10. boobish
11. brainless
12. bubbleheaded
13. buffoonish
14. chowderheaded
15. chuckleheaded
16. clownish
17. clueless
18. cracked
19. cuckoo
20. daffy
21. daft
22. dense
23. dim
24. dimwitted
25. doltish
26. dotty
27. dull
28. dunderheaded
29. empty-headed
30. fatuous
31. featherheaded
32. flighty
33. foolish
34. giddy
35. green
36. gullible
37. helpless
38. hopeless
39. ignorant
40. in the dark
41. incompetent
42. ineffectual
43. insensate
44. irrational
45. jerkish
46. jugheaded
47. knuckleheaded
48. kooky
49. lamebrained
50. laughable
51. light-headed
52. lumpish
53. lunkheaded
54. misguided
55. naïve
56. oafish
57. obtuse
58. out to lunch
59. punch-drunk
60. scatterbrained
61. shallow-brained
62. shortshighted
63. sluggish
64. stolid
65. stupefied
66. thick
67. thick-headed
68. thick-witted
69. unsmart
70. useless
71. vacuous
72. vapid
73. witless
74. woodenheaded
75. yokel-like

But perhaps what you wish to do is mock the witlessness of a place or thing instead of a person. Many of the 150 words listed so far will do, and yet there are many more options with which you can add both compassion and variety to your speech. Continue to the next page for 75 more options.

Is an activity or item not up to the level of coolness or usefulness that you might wish? Using the R-word to describe it isn't particularly cool either. Try one of these 75 options instead, and you'll be considerably less clueless:

1. absurd
2. amateur-hour
3. amateurish
4. asinine
5. awkward
6. backward
7. bizarro
8. boring
9. brainless
10. childish
11. cliched
12. cockeyed
13. common
14. cornball
15. dippy
16. doltish
17. dopey
18. dorky
19. dumb
20. fallacious
21. fanciful
22. farcical
23. foolish
24. frivolous
25. futile
26. goofy
27. hackneyed
28. half-baked
29. harebrained
30. hokey
31. ill-advised
32. illogical
33. immature
34. implausible
35. inadequate
36. inane
37. insipid
38. invalid
39. irrational
40. irrelevant
41. kooky
42. laughable
43. lowbrow
44. ludicrous
45. meaningless
46. mindless
47. mundane
48. nonsensical
49. nutty
50. obscure
51. old hat
52. opaque
53. outlandish
54. peculiar
55. pedestrian
56. plebeian
57. pointless
58. preposterous
59. puerile
60. ridiculous
61. sappy
62. screwball
63. screwy
64. senseless
65. silly
66. sophomoric
67. thoughtless
68. tomfoolery
69. trite
70. trivial
71. unreasonable
72. unwise
73. wacky
74. way-out
75. zany

Now that you have 225 ways not to use the R-word, stop by r-word.org and, if you haven't already, make that pledge to remove this awkward slur from your speech.