silly

[ sil-ee ]
See synonyms for: sillysilliessilliness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,sil·li·er, sil·li·est.
  1. weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer.

  2. absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea.

  1. 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.

  2. stunned; dazed: He knocked me silly.

  3. Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket: silly mid off.

  4. Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.

  5. Archaic. weak; helpless.

  6. Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.

noun,plural sil·lies.
  1. Informal. a silly or foolish person: Don't be such a silly.

Origin of silly

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie “foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful”; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely

Other words for silly

Opposites for silly

Other words from silly

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

Words Nearby silly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use silly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for silly

silly

/ (ˈsɪlɪ) /


adjective-lier or -liest
  1. lacking in good sense; absurd

  2. frivolous, trivial, or superficial

  1. feeble-minded

  2. dazed, as from a blow

  3. obsolete homely or humble

noun
  1. (modifier) cricket (of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicket: silly mid-on

  2. Also called: silly-billy plural -lies informal a foolish person

Origin of silly

1
C15 (in the sense: pitiable, hence the later senses: foolish): from Old English sǣlig (unattested) happy, from sǣl happiness; related to Gothic sēls good

Derived forms of silly

  • silliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012