1. people who pretend to be witty or clever but lack real intelligence or wit
Usage: archaic; literary

Examples

• The salon was filled with witlings who spoke loudly but said nothing of substance.
• She dismissed the critics as mere witlings who couldn’t appreciate true art.
• The playwright mocked the witlings of fashionable society in his comedy.
• Among the witlings at court, few possessed genuine wisdom.
• He was tired of the witlings who dominated literary circles with their shallow observations.