silly

[ sil-ee ]

adjective

, sil·li·er, sil·li·est.

1. weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish:

   a silly writer.

   Synonyms: dull-witted, dull, dim, dense, brainless, senseless, witless

   Antonyms: sensible

2. absurd; ridiculous; irrational:

   a silly idea.

   Synonyms: preposterous, nonsensical, asinine, inane

3. humorous and playful in a clownish, whimsical, or exaggerated way; showing unrestrained high spirits:

   With a few April Fools’ Day tricks, students have a respite from seriousness and get to just be silly and laugh.

4. stunned; dazed:

   He knocked me silly.

5. Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket:

   silly mid off.

6. Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
7. Archaic. weak; helpless.
8. Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.

noun

, plural sil·lies.

1. Informal. a silly or foolish person:

   Don't be such a silly.

silly

/ ˈsɪlɪ /

adjective

1. lacking in good sense; absurd
2. frivolous, trivial, or superficial
3. feeble-minded
4. dazed, as from a blow
5. obsolete.
   homely or humble

noun

1. modifier cricket (of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicket

   silly mid-on

2. informal.
   Also calledsilly-billy -lies a foolish person

Derived Forms

• ˈsilliness, noun

Other Words From

• sil·li·ly adverb
• sil·li·ness noun
• un·sil·ly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of silly¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie “foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful”; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely

Word History and Origins

Origin of silly¹

C15 (in the sense: pitiable, hence the later senses: foolish): from Old English sǣlig (unattested) happy, from sǣl happiness; related to Gothic sēls good

Example Sentences

Carr told Fox News on Tuesday that he may obstruct the planned merger between Paramount Global and Skydance because CBS refused to release the transcript of the Kamala Harris "60 Minutes" interview, a silly Trump conspiracy theory suggesting that they were covering for her.

From Salon

"It may sound silly, and the translation of our work into a marketable drug will take years, but we now have a potentially targetable brain circuit for creating therapeutics that could instantly slow breathing and initiate a peaceful, meditative state."

From Science Daily

It’s usually silly to declare races over this early, but this seems like a safe bet.

From Los Angeles Times

“Seemingly silly and arbitrary technicalities like this is the outcome of a couple centuries of death and illness from non-labeled, mis-labeled, and/or deceptively-labeled foods not allowing for responsible choices by the broadest number of people possible as food became more industrialized or was able to be shipped further from home,” explained user u/turnmeintocompostplz.

From Salon

As is the case with many films in which classically trained actors are called upon to elevate genre material, “Prophecy” comes across as simultaneously grand and silly — which, after all, didn’t stop “Star Wars” from taking over the world.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• childish
• crazy
• frivolous
• idiotic
• inappropriate
• irresponsible
• ludicrous
• nonsensical
• pointless
• preposterous
• ridiculous
• simple
• stupid