fatuous

American  

[fach-oo-uhs] / ˈfætʃ u əs /

adjective

1. foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly; witless.

   Synonyms:

   dull-witted, dull, dense, dim, brainless

2. Archaic. unreal; illusory.

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fatuous British  

/ ˈfætjʊəs /

adjective

1. complacently or inanely foolish

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Usage

What are other ways to say fatuous? The adjective fatuous describes people or things that are foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner. Do you know when to use fatuous, foolish, silly, inane, stupid, and asinine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

• fatuously adverb
• fatuousness noun

Etymology

Origin of fatuous

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fatuus “silly, foolish, idiotic”; -ous

Example Sentences

The concept is simple but wildly effective, with enough force to push the viewer past many of the film’s fatuous elements.

From Salon

But at least they made an attempt, however fatuous, to persuade the American people and the country’s international allies that there was a reason for doing so.

From Salon

You’d be unwise to look to the movies for economic insight—this one amounts to an extended fatuous argument that an individual who behaved like a corporate restructuring would be a psychopath.

From The Wall Street Journal

Visually epic, sonically relentless and otherwise fatuous, the film has a dramatic inertia occasionally punctuated by eruptions of utter catastrophe—a series of shocks that leaves you singed, shaken and not much better for it.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Monday, he repeated the fatuous nonsense he's spewed for ages:

From Salon