silly

1 of 3

adjective

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

b

obsolete : lowly in station : humble

4

archaic : helpless, weak

sillily

ˈsi-lə-lē 

adverb

silliness

ˈsi-lē-nəs 

noun

silly

2 of 3

adverb

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

silly

3 of 3

noun

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

"Well then, silly, why not stay!"

—Edna Ferber

"And who, then? Oh, the long line of sillies, light-weights, rakes, ne'er-do-wells, who … constituted society."

—Theodore Dreiser

When the narrator describes women directly they seem … innately either sentimental sillies … or … pious hypocrites.

—Myra Jehlen

Synonyms

Adjective

• birdbrained
• ditzy
• ditsy
• dizzy
• featherbrained
• flighty
• frivolous
• frothy
• futile
• giddy
• goofy
• harebrained
• light-headed
• light-minded
• puerile
• scatterbrained
• yeasty

Choose the Right Synonym for silly

simple, foolish, silly, fatuous, asinine mean actually or apparently deficient in intelligence.

simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort.

considered people simple who had trouble with computers

foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense.

foolish stunts

silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior.

the silly antics of revelers

fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality.

fatuous conspiracy theories

asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception.

an asinine plot

Examples of silly in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Packed with silly hijinks, this 2004 comedy also stars Kristin Chenoweth and Kristin Davis. —Kelsie Gibson, People.com, 17 Dec. 2024

But 2024 is not 2017; silly overlays have given way to undetectable beauty filters. —Chloe Albanesius, PCMAG, 16 Dec. 2024

Adverb

Ragtime has its moments of gripping drama and violence, but much of what’s stitching all this together gets silly fast if, as is the case here, there isn’t a solid intention in the binding. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024

Much of its lexicon sounds both unapproachable and, well, just weird: sticky wicket, googly, yorker, jaffa, daisy cutter, silly mid off, maiden over, tickle, nurdle, trundler, paddle scoop, popping crease, golden duck. —Chris Heath, The Atlantic, 25 July 2024

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

• silly season
• wear a silly grin/smile on one's face

Kids Definition

silly

adjective

sil·​ly ˈsil-ē 

sillier; silliest

1

: weak in mind : foolish

2

: not showing common sense or good judgment : absurd

a silly plan

3

: lacking in seriousness or importance

playing silly games

4

: being stunned or dazed

scared silly

silliness

ˈsil-ē-nəs 

noun