silly
1 of 3adjective
sil·ly ˈsi-lē 
sillier; silliest
1
a
: exhibiting or indicative of a lack of common sense or sound judgment
a very silly mistake
b
: weak in intellect
acting like a silly fool
c
: playfully lighthearted and amusing
a silly sense of humor
d
: trifling, frivolous
a silly waste of time
2
: being stunned or dazed
scared silly
knocked me silly
3
a
archaic : rustic, plain
The silly buckets on the deck,/That had so long remained,/I dreamt that they were filled with dew;/And when I awoke, it rained.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge b
obsolete : lowly in station : humble
4
archaic : helpless, weak
sillily
ˈsi-lə-lē
adverb silliness
ˈsi-lē-nəs
noun silly
2 of 3adverb
1
informal : to an extreme degree
was scared silly
bored silly
2
: in a silly manner : in an absurd or ridiculous way
talking/behaving silly
Benny Hill just walked silly, period, usually at high speed, to the accompaniment of cheesy pop music … Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwoodsilly
3 of 3noun
plural sillies
: one who is silly : a foolish person
"But there," she told herself, "I am very likely a silly—meeting trouble half-way." D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence"Well then, silly, why not stay!" Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber"And who, then? Oh, the long line of sillies, light-weights, rakes, ne'er-do-wells, who … constituted society." Theodore Dreiser
Theodore DreiserWhen the narrator describes women directly they seem … innately either sentimental sillies … or … pious hypocrites. Myra Jehlen
Myra Jehlen
Synonyms
Adjective
- birdbrained
- ditzy
- ditsy
- dizzy
- featherbrained
- flighty
- frivolous
- frothy
- futile
- giddy
- goofy
- harebrained
- light-headed
- light-minded
- puerile
- scatterbrained
- yeasty
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective I hope I didn't make any silly mistakes. The idea does seem a bit silly. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. You drove in this weather? What a silly thing to do! Silly me. I locked myself out of the car again. Ask a silly question, and you get a silly answer. “I can't ask you to do that.” “Don't be silly. It is my pleasure.” What a silly little purse. It looks too small to hold everything that I'd need to carry. I'm tired of watching silly movies. The book was a silly waste of time. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Michael O'sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, 20 July 2022 Everyone’s reaction seemed a bit silly—like getting mad about a fart. Ian Allen, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2022 Doesn’t this all sound even just a little bit silly? Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2022 Perhaps as silly and a bit more edgy is Tiffany Haddish’s police officer pulling Joe over. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 4 Aug. 2022 Liu and Bender were two of the many stars at the Bullet Train premiere in Los Angeles, where Liu posed with current and former castmates as well as Bender; the two took some silly and sweet photos together before walking the red carpet hand-in-hand. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2022 Memes and GIFs from the movie, which often depict the characters in silly and sometimes explicit contexts, are hard to miss on social media. New York Times, 16 July 2022 Personable, athletic, a little silly sometimes, the Pittsburgh-area native with that big radiant smile, the square jaw, the thick head of wavy hair, could chat up anyone. Manuel Roig-franzia, Anchorage Daily News, 28 July 2022 Personable, athletic, a little silly sometimes, the Pittsburgh-area native with that big radiant smile, the square jaw, the thick head of wavy hair, could chat up anyone. Manuel Roig-franzia, Washington Post, 28 July 2022 See More
Adjective
It’s quintessential Peele: memorably surreal, spooky and a little bit silly. Michael O'sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, 20 July 2022 Everyone’s reaction seemed a bit silly—like getting mad about a fart. Ian Allen, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2022 Doesn’t this all sound even just a little bit silly? Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2022 Perhaps as silly and a bit more edgy is Tiffany Haddish’s police officer pulling Joe over. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 4 Aug. 2022 Liu and Bender were two of the many stars at the Bullet Train premiere in Los Angeles, where Liu posed with current and former castmates as well as Bender; the two took some silly and sweet photos together before walking the red carpet hand-in-hand. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2022 Memes and GIFs from the movie, which often depict the characters in silly and sometimes explicit contexts, are hard to miss on social media. New York Times, 16 July 2022 Personable, athletic, a little silly sometimes, the Pittsburgh-area native with that big radiant smile, the square jaw, the thick head of wavy hair, could chat up anyone. Manuel Roig-franzia, Anchorage Daily News, 28 July 2022 Personable, athletic, a little silly sometimes, the Pittsburgh-area native with that big radiant smile, the square jaw, the thick head of wavy hair, could chat up anyone. Manuel Roig-franzia, Washington Post, 28 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English sely, silly happy, innocent, pitiable, feeble, from Old English sǣlig, from sǣl happiness; akin to Old High German sālig happy
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4
Adverb
1731, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Noun
1560, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing silly
Kids Definition
silly
adjective
sil·ly ˈsi-lē
sillier; silliest
1
: having or showing a lack of common sense : foolish
Silly me! I forgot again.
What a silly mistake!
2
: not serious or important
a silly reason
3
: playful and lighthearted
silly jokes
silly 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity the matinee show was filled with a bunch of silly children making noise Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- goofy
- giddy
- futile
- frivolous
- foolish
- playful
- puerile
- ditzy
- crazy
- scatterbrained
- harebrained
- inane
- happy
- nonsensical
- daft
- flighty
- light-minded
- featherbrained
- dizzy
- frothy
- fatuous
- thoughtless
- ditsy
- yeasty
- superficial
- birdbrained
- flippant
- witless
- light-headed
- shallow
- giggly
- lighthearted
- daffy
- exuberant
- sappy
- fruity
- fluttery
- light
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- serious
- earnest
- sober
- thoughtful
- somber
- unfrivolous
- melancholy
- sombre
- heavy
- grave
- solemn
- serious-minded
- severe
- dignified
- staid
- sedate
- no-nonsense
2
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment those silly movie producers who thought that audiences would fall for that gimmick all over again Synonyms & Similar Words
- stupid
- absurd
- foolish
- crazy
- mad
- idiotic
- insane
- ridiculous
- dumb
- daft
- irrational
- lunatic
- fool
- simple
- nonsensical
- zany
- asinine
- fatuous
- wacky
- preposterous
- unreasonable
- unwise
- kooky
- loony
- weak
- dippy
- nutty
- sappy
- idiotical
- whacky
- witless
- senseless
- daffy
- simpleminded
- screwball
- looney
- inept
- slow
- brainless
- dotty
- moronic
- harebrained
- tomfool
- crackpot
- jerky
- cuckoo
- illogical
- ludicrous
- half-baked
- dopey
- kookie
- thoughtless
- unreasoning
- dorky
- bubbleheaded
- lunkheaded
- laughable
- cockeyed
- clueless
- vacuous
- obtuse
- half-witted
- dull
- doltish
- farcical
- balmy
- imbecile
- weak-minded
- lamebrain
- unintelligent
- mindless
- featherheaded
- unreasoned
- thickheaded
- fallacious
- out to lunch
- dunderheaded
- invalid
- pinheaded
- airheaded
- oafish
- feebleminded
- soft
- dense
- dim
- gormless
- clownish
- opaque
- imbecilic
- softheaded
- surd
- dim-witted
- unsound
- thick
- lamebrained
- empty-headed
- knuckleheaded
- chuckleheaded
- dopy
- buffoonish
- nonrational
- brain-dead
- birdbrained
- notional
- slow-witted
- boobish
- unconsidered
- chowderheaded
- ill-advised
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- wise
- sensible
- sound
- clever
- sane
- prudent
- reasonable
- sagacious
- smart
- intelligent
- judicious
- logical
- bright
- valid
- rational
- sage
- brainy
- sapient
- well-advised
3
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter had the silly notion that her latest marriage might last longer than her three previous ones Synonyms & Similar Words
- ridiculous
- absurd
- pathetic
- stupid
- foolish
- comical
- ludicrous
- unreasonable
- dumb
- laughable
- farcical
- irrational
- preposterous
- derisive
- crazy
- incredible
- risible
- insane
- idiotic
- fantastical
- inane
- derisory
- mad
- fantastic
- nonsensical
- moronic
- asinine
- daft
- fatuous
- cockamamie
- cockamamy
- unwise
- imbecile
- wacky
- witless
- unreal
- simpleminded
- lunatic
- illogical
- unrealistic
- loony
- unbelievable
- kooky
- brainless
- nutty
- whacky
- harebrained
- for the birds
- daffy
- screwball
- inconceivable
- dotty
- imbecilic
- jerky
- idiotical
- senseless
- half-baked
- cuckoo
- looney
- kookie
- far-fetched
- half-witted
- weak-minded
- cockeyed
- balmy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- serious
- earnest
- solemn
- reasonable
- realistic
- logical
- sensible
- rational
- conceivable
- credible
- believable
4
as in confused
suffering from mental confusion stunning news that knocked me silly Synonyms & Similar Words
- confused
- bewildered
- dazed
- distracted
- stunned
- dizzy
- dopey
- bemused
- befuddled
- at sea
- muddleheaded
- spacey
- slaphappy
- punchy
- bedeviled
- stupefied
- confounded
- fogged
- pixilated
- dopy
- zonked
- muzzy
- out of it
- raddled
- addlepated
- unconscious
- addled
- befogged
- mixed-up
- pixillated
- addle
- zonked-out
- punch-drunk
- bushed
- spacy
- spaced
- shell-shocked
- senseless
- spaced-out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- conscious
- clearheaded
- alert
silly
2 of 2noun
as in simpleton
Synonyms & Similar Words
- simpleton
- fool
- goose
- scatterbrain
- ditz
- flibbertigibbet
- cuckoo
- nitwit
- rattlebrain
- featherhead
- featherbrain
- birdbrain
- softhead
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sobersides
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of silly are asinine, fatuous, foolish, and simple. While all these words mean "actually or apparently deficient in intelligence," silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior.
the silly antics of revelers
In some situations, the words asinine and silly are roughly equivalent. However, asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception.
an asinine plot
Although the words fatuous and silly have much in common, fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality.
fatuous conspiracy theories
The words foolish and silly can be used in similar contexts, but foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense.
foolish stunts
The words simple and silly are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort.
considered people simple who had trouble with computers