How to Use doofus in a Sentence

doofus

noun
  • I don't want to be partnered on the project with that doofus.
  • Don't be such a doofus.
  • And sure enough, here’s a doofus leaning in for a closer look.
    — Soren Andersen, The Seattle Times, 15 May 2017
  • Be the doofus who tries skateboarding for the first time at age 53.
    — Joseph Goodman, al, 17 June 2022
  • To a pint-sized doofus like myself, this was by far the coolest thing imaginable.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 7 Apr. 2022
  • If something doesn’t sound bad enough on its face, tie it to something even a doofus knows is awful.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 24 Aug. 2021
  • These are two chill doofuses who are just going to drink beers and go to the fair together.
    — Ali Barthwell, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2025
  • Platt’s off-putting doofus is such a self-congratulatory stunt — and of a piece with the entire film.
    — Armond White, National Review, 24 Sep. 2021
  • Seth, the doofus who somehow ruined Layla's engagement six months ago.
    — Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 25 Nov. 2025
  • One way of culling the herd of doofus drone pilots is (gentle) mockery—and that’s the true meaning of DroneCrashmas to me.
    — Faine Greenwood, Slate Magazine, 3 Jan. 2018
  • Kramer was the prototype of the hipster doofus, an urban species about as likely to be eradicated as the cockroach.
    — Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY, 3 July 2019
  • And, yup, Archie convinces his band of doofus jocks (and perfect Kevin) to join the Dark Circle again.
    — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, 2 May 2018
  • Sitcoms have simply swung to the other end of the spectrum, portraying dads as clueless, bumbling doofuses.
    — Aaron Traister, Redbook, 20 Sep. 2012
  • Johnny is a very funny, very thrilling combination of playful writing and a canny performance of doofus-tude.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Terry Bradshaw was benched in Pittsburgh and got the reputation for being a doofus.
    — Bernie Lincicome, chicagotribune.com, 18 Aug. 2017
  • Bryan Jager has a fun number as a sensitive scallywag; Jarrett Poore gets laughs as a lovable doofus.
    — Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 20 Oct. 2019
  • Officer Dixon at first glance seems a classic mouth-breathing doofus with a comic malevolence that is vintage Sam Rockwell.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2017
  • As Irons plays him, at least until the movie’s swerving finale, this PM is a likable doofus, certain that any problem can be solved with a handshake and a cup of tea.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 21 Jan. 2022
  • As the baby of the group, lovable doofus Vern came to life through 11-year-old Jerry O’Connell’s sweet performance.
    — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • That leaves Catherine to beg River to take Shirley’s claims seriously and rush to the club to protect the poor doofus from getting targeted again.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Tom comes off as a shallow bully at first, and then as a bumbling doofus out of his depth, and occasionally as a massively petty middle-manager desperate for approval.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 2 Apr. 2023
  • Since there are only two noteworthy humans in the story — one is dumped after the opening ten minutes and the other is a comedy-relief doofus — humanity is notably missing from the story.
    — Kyle Smith, National Review, 31 Oct. 2021
  • In a lesser movie, he would be played for laughs as a jacked doofus; here, the character is more nuanced—Eivind seems like a sexy, emotionally plausible alternative to Aksel.
    — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Particularly well served by the writers are Doi, the resident mordant wit, and Donovan as the doofus — in Kutcher’s old job, basically.
    — Robert Lloydtelevision Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2023
  • Patiño delights with the precise gestures to convey that though Ernesto is there to get paid to support his family, compassion for another person, even a privileged doofus, shouldn’t be conditional.
    — Carlos Aguilar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2019
  • Patiño delights with the precise gestures to convey that though Ernesto is there to get paid to support his family, compassion for another person, even a privileged doofus, shouldn’t be conditional.
    — latimes.com, 7 June 2019
  • But there’s just no way that 29 women yearned to marry this American-Eagle-assistant-manager-ass doofus and go live with him in Arizona forever.
    — Jay Willis, GQ, 5 Mar. 2018
  • But Dupieux has always created mini-universes in which his deadpan-doofus characters can pinball about obeying the laws of a physics not quite the same as ours, so in many ways, the restrictions don’t seem to have restricted him that much.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Peacemaker is a hero, his father is alive and kind, his brother is alive and his best friend, Rick Flagg is a doofus, Emilia Harcourt seems interested in rekindling a relationship.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • As disarming as Rockwell is with his wry balance of doofus, savant and wiseass, and as capable as Verbinski is at keeping the brushes with death coming at a sustained pace, the movie feels most original in its flashbacks.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026

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

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