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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
stunning news that knocked me silly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in simpleton
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silly
Quispe López, Them, 12 Mar. 2025
Wearing glasses was like having a broken arm—an impairment so glaring that trying to distract from it or compensate for it seemed pointless and silly.
—Alice Gregory, Allure, 11 Mar. 2025
Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Adjective
Self-pleasure can be a fun way to connect with yourself, experiment with new fantasies, and get a little silly with it along the way.
—Quispe López, Them, 12 Mar. 2025
Wearing glasses was like having a broken arm—an impairment so glaring that trying to distract from it or compensate for it seemed pointless and silly.
—Alice Gregory, Allure, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
—Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silly
Adjective
-
There’s a Moon Alert all day, which adds to the delays and goofy energy and restricts your spending to food and gas.—
Georgia Nicols,
The Denver Post,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Dark Winds took an explicit turn with its social and political commentary in its second season; as a result, the dialogue occasionally veered into goofy literalness, and many of its heavy-handed lines were given to Emma.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Ignoring those who served and buried honorably is stupid.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Brendan Gallagher scored a goal in that game on the power play, taking a ridiculous feed from Andrei Markov in the slot and converting, blowing the roof off the building.—
Arpon Basu,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Bam Adebayo only taking seven shots each in the last two games is ridiculous.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Spaun looked bewildered as Rory stalked past him toward the 17th green.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
-
The resulting bloodshed brings the pair of goofy gendarmes into bewildered action, as the Zero cavalry trots in on short-legged white horses and Jony, Line, Rudy, and the local One leader, Jane (Anamaria Vartolomei), deploy on their respective sides.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Gamble, seeing there was no way to get anywhere with the chancellor playing the simpleton, opened the floor to softball questions.—
Thomas Meaney,
Harper's Magazine,
26 Apr. 2024
-
Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons.—
Marilynne Robinson,
Harper's Magazine,
1 July 2022
Adjective
-
Somewhere up there in Hoops Heaven, Stormin’ Norman Sloan is one giddy Gator who is almost certainly feeling validated and vindicated about the SEC’s basketball awakening.—
Mike Bianchi,
Orlando Sentinel,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Indian cricket legend Harmanpreet Kaur was euphoric, roaring loudly into the Mumbai sky and echoed by 15,000 giddy fans at the Brabourne Stadium.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
No matter what your feelings are about Sternberg and his executive team today, these are not foolish people.—
John Romano,
Orlando Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2025
-
There's nothing foolish about choosing beauty over practicality if that's what your heart desires.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Undermining tax collections and the IRS goes hand in glove with Trump’s absurd belief that the U.S. federal government can or should try to fund itself primarily via tariffs.—
New York Daily News,
Twin Cities,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Steph Curry is back in the groove, averaging 28.7 points and 6.1 assists with an absurd shooting line of .495/.421/.924 over the team's last 15 games.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silly. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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