silly

1 of 3

adjective

sil·ly ˈsi-lē How to pronounce silly (audio)

sillier; silliest

: exhibiting or indicative of a lack of common sense or sound judgment

a very silly mistake

: weak in intellect

acting like a silly fool

: playfully lighthearted and amusing

a silly sense of humor

: trifling, frivolous

a silly waste of time

: being stunned or dazed

scared silly

knocked me silly

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

obsolete : lowly in station : humble

archaic : helpless, weak

sillily

ˈsi-lə-lē

adverb

silliness

ˈsi-lē-nəs How to pronounce silly (audio)

noun

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

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

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

单词	sillies
释义	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 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 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 silly season wear a silly grin/smile on one's face silly season wear a silly grin/smile on one's face 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 sillies noun plural of silly as in simpletons Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance simpletons fools geese scatterbrains birdbrains nitwits ditzes cuckoos flibbertigibbets softheads rattlebrains featherheads featherbrains Antonyms & Near Antonyms sobersides
随便看	tenderfooted tenderfoots tendergreen tendergreens tenderhearted tenderheartedly tenderheartedness tenderheartednesses tendering tenderings tenderisation tenderisations tenderise tenderised tenderiser tenderisers tenderises tenderising tenderization tenderizations tenderize tenderized tenderizer tenderizers tenderizes

silly

adjective

adverb

noun

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing silly

Kids Definition

adjective

noun