daftdaft /dɑːft $ dæft/ adjective especially British English 
a daft idea Me, jealous? Don’t be daft (=that is a silly idea). She’s as daft as a brush (=extremely silly).► see thesaurus at stupid2be daft about something to be extremely interested in something: Tony’s still daft about cars!—daftness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINdaft
Origin:
Old English gedæfte ‘gentle’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Don't be daft! Of course you're not too old to go clubbing.
- Is this another of your daft ideas?
- She's as daft as a brush, honestly she is.
- Well, what's the daftest thing you've ever done at work?
- What a daft thing to say!
- And it's particularly daft when the firm itself has gone bust.
- Before, I'd felt little resentment and shrugged off being labelled daft or deaf, never needing to cry in front of them.
- But it was a daft thing to ask, wasn't it?
- But she had some daft ideas about this place.
- Excuse me while I dive back into my piles of daft statistics.
- It's the hangover from twenty-four hours of daft behaviour.
- It rises with the tide, only no one's so daft as to stay and see how high.
- Would he really countenance such a daft proposal?
THESAURUS
showing a total lack of good sense or good judgment. Stupid sounds very strong and is often used when you are annoyed or strongly criticizing someone’s behaviour: · I wish you’d stop asking stupid questions.· It was stupid of me to leave the door unlocked.· Well, if you’re stupid enough to skate on the lake, you deserve to fall in.
doing or saying things that are not sensible or serious, and that may make you feel embarrassed later. Silly sounds much gentler than stupid: · a silly mistake· Don’t be so silly! There’s nothing wrong with you.· I think you’re silly to worry so much about your hair.
informal not sensible, often in a way that is also amusing: · Is this another of your daft ideas?· Don’t be daft! Of course you’re not too old to go clubbing.
informal especially American English stupid: · a dumb question· He was dumb enough to believe her.· Oh, I just did the dumbest thing back there, I forgot my purse.
stupid. Foolish sounds rather formal and is used mainly in written English. The usual words to use in everyday English are silly or stupid: · It was a foolish thing to say.· They did not want to look foolish.· It was all a foolish dream.· I think the board of directors made a foolish choice that it will later regret.
formal done without thinking carefully enough about the possible disadvantages that may result: · She knew the marriage was unwise.· an unwise choice of words· It would be very unwise to speculate.
British English often humorous used when you think that what someone is planning or suggesting is certain to fail, but you do not want to say directly that they are behaving in a stupid way: · The leader of the opposition described it as ‘a brave decision.’· I think he’s being very brave.
Longman Language Activatorstupid behaviour, actions, ideas etc someone who is stupid or does stupid things does things that are not at all sensible and may have bad results: · You stupid boy! I've told you not to play with matches!· Withdraw the police from the area? I've never heard such a stupid idea!· Well, if you're stupid enough to skate on the lake, you deserve to fall in.· Don't you call me a stupid idiot!stupid to do something: · You'd have to be stupid not to take advantage of a great offer like this!do something stupid: · I was very drunk last night -- I hope I didn't do anything stupid.it is stupid (of somebody) to do something: · It was stupid of me to believe her of course, but I did.a stupid thing to say/do: · That was a stupid thing to say.· I didn't say you were stupid, I said it was a stupid thing to do.
especially American, spoken stupid: · She's always asking such dumb questions.· She told him Jeff was just a friend, and he was dumb enough to believe her.· Oh, I just did the dumbest thing back there, I forgot my briefcase.
someone who is silly or who says silly things does or says things that are not sensible or serious, and that may make them feel embarrassed later: · Now don't be silly, get up off the floor.· You've made a lot of silly mistakes in this essay.· I have a question which might sound a bit silly.it is silly to do something: · I think you're silly to worry so much about your hair.it is silly of somebody: · That was silly of me -- I just locked the trunk and the keys are inside.silly little: · You're just a silly little boy.a silly thing to do/say: · I had locked myself out, which was a silly thing to do.
British informal stupid in what you do or say, but often in a way that is also amusing: · Is this another of your daft ideas?· Don't be daft! Of course you're not too old to go clubbing.· Well, what's the daftest thing you've ever done at work?daft thing to do/say: · What a daft thing to say!daft as a brush (=used to say that someone is very daft): · She's as daft as a brush, honestly she is.
formal stupid and not thinking sensibly about the possible results of what you do: · Jan realised later that her behaviour had been very foolish.· I think the board of directors made a foolish choice that it will later regret.it is foolish (of somebody) to do something: · It was a warning she would have been foolish to ignore.
formal an action or plan that is ill-advised is stupid because it will probably cause problems in the future or be unsuccessful: · In an ill-advised effort to improve matters, they sent him to boarding school.· The bank claims that the company's losses are the result of an ill-advised decision to declare bankruptcy.
done without thinking carefully enough about the possible disadvantages that may result: · She knew the marriage was unwise, but she wanted a husband and a family.· A Defence Department spokesman described the comments as 'extraordinarily unwise'.· His appointment as chief executive proved to be a very unwise decision.· It's unwise to travel alone in certain parts of the city, so always take a cab.
irrational actions, feelings, or beliefs are not based on clear thinking or sensible reasons, so they are strange or hard to understand: · If Dane drinks even a couple of beers, he becomes irrational and even violent.· Jane's irrational hopes began to rise as she listened to him.irrational fear of/about something: · an irrational fear of flying
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Me, jealous? Don’t be daft (=that is a silly idea). She’s as daft as a brush (=extremely silly).COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1silly: Me, jealous? Don’t be daft (=that is a silly idea). She’s as daft as a brush (=extremely silly).· But nothing is as daft as the way they're wasting Steve McFadden.· I don't think that kid's as daft as he makes out.
· It rises with the tide, only no one's so daft as to stay and see how high.· Well, half-a-kilo lane sounds so daft!· I now ask myself how I could have been so daft.· This is what made the Donovan libel action so daft.
NOUN· But it was a daft thing to ask, wasn't it?· The daft thing was there was a rose on her pillow.· The daft thing was they were probably going back to where we'd been working.
a daft idea Me, jealous? Don’t be daft (=that is a silly idea). She’s as daft as a brush (=extremely silly).► see thesaurus at stupid2be daft about something to be extremely interested in something: Tony’s still daft about cars!—daftness noun [uncountable]