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Sometimes characters are just not that bright. This is an index of tropes related to stupidity, absentmindedness, and forgetfulness.

See Contrived Stupidity Tropes for a specific set of these tropes dealing with unrealistic stupidity driving the plot. Compare Anti-Intellectualism and contrast Intelligence Tropes.

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Tropes:

• Achievements in Ignorance
• Adults Are Useless
• Alcohol Induced Idiocy
• Apathetic Citizens
• Artificial Stupidity
• Artistic License - Gun Safety
• Anti-Advice
• Belief Makes You Stupid
• Blatant Lies
  • Wild Card Excuse
• Bullying a Dragon
• But Thou Must
  • Stupidity Is the Only Option
• Cannot Spit It Out
• Cannot Talk To Women
• Chaotic Stupid
• Closed Circle
• Contrived Stupidity Tropes
• Credit Card Plot
• Culture Blind
• Curiosity Killed the Cast
• Damsel Fight and Flight Response
• Damsel Scrappy
• Deus Exit Machina
• Didn't Think This Through
• Ditch The Bodyguards
• The Ditz
• Dramatic Slip
• Dug In Deeper
• Dumb and Drummer
• Dumb Blonde
• Dying Like Animals
• Either World Domination or Something about Bananas
• Eskimos Aren't Real
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy
• Explosive Stupidity
• Feigning Intelligence
  • I've Heard of That! What is It?
• The Fool
  • Fearless Fool
• Forgot About His Powers
• Forgot I Couldn't Swim
• Forgotten Phlebotinum
• Forgot to Feed the Monster
• Genre Blindness
  • Contractual Genre Blindness
  • Reality Show Genre Blindness
• Global Ignorance
• Gullible Lemmings
• Guns in Church
• Holding Back the Phlebotinum
• Holding Both Sides of the Conversation
• Humans Are Morons
• Idiot Ball
  • Conflict Ball
  • Distress Ball
  • Hero Ball
    • Out of Sight, Out of Mind
    • Villain Exit Stage Left
  • Third Act Stupidity
  • Villain Ball
    • Bond Villain Stupidity
    • Cut Lex Luthor a Check
    • General Failure
    • Just Between You and Me
    • Revealing Coverup
• Idiot Plot
• I Just Shot Marvin in the Face
• I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You
• I'm Thinking It Over!
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
• Juggling Loaded Guns
• Just Eat Gilligan
• Just Eat the MacGuffin
• Kindhearted Simpleton
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All
• Lawful Stupid
• Left Your Lifesaver Behind
• Mercy Lead
• The Millstone
• Moose Are Idiots
• Never Recycle Your Schemes
• Nobody Ever Complained Before
• No Means Yes
• No Peripheral Vision
• Not a Zombie
• Oblivious To Hints
• Oblivious To His Own Description
• Paper-Thin Disguise
• Phlebotinum Induced Stupidity
• Ping Pong Naïveté
• Plot Sensitive Snooping Skills
• Poor Communication Kills
• Recognition Failure
• Reed Richards Is Useless
• Remembered I Could Fly
• Sanity Has Advantages
• Seemingly Profound Fool
• Selective Obliviousness
• Selective Stupidity
• Sidetracked by the Analogy
• Stating the Simple Solution
• Stop Drowning and Stand Up
• Stranger Safety
• Stupid Crooks
• Stupid Evil
• Stupid Good
• Stupidity Inducing Attack
• Stupid Neutral
• Stupid Sacrifice
• Stupid Scientist
• Stupid Surrender
• Suicidal Overconfidence
• Strategy Schmategy
• They Just Dont Get It
• Too Dumb to Fool
• Too Dumb to Live
• Took a Level in Dumbass
• Treacherous Spirit Chase
• Violation of Common Sense
• What an Idiot
  • Chained to a Bed
  • Have You Told Anyone Else?
  • Mistaken for Index
  • Once is Not Enough
• Your Brain Won't Be Much of a Meal

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Split Personality Tropes

Tropes

This Index Is in the Way

Split Personality Tropes

Topical Tropes

This Index Is in the Way

Stupid Crooks

Index of Exact Trope Titles

Subverted Innocence