weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer.
absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea.
stunned; dazed: He knocked me silly.
Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket: silly mid off.
Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
Archaic. weak; helpless.
Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.
noun,pluralsil·lies.
Informal. a silly or foolish person: Don't be such a silly.
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WATCH NOW: Is "Silly" A Positive Or Negative Word?
Silly means "weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer," or "absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea," or "stunned; dazed." But, did it always mean these things? Why does everyone think it's such an endearing word?
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Origin of silly
First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie “foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful”; late Middle English syly, variant of selyseely
Claiming that people with protruding ears were naturally weak-willed, for example, would seem plain silly.
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Well, back in the early 1200s, the original sense of silly was “blessed” or, more accurately, “spiritually blessed.”
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That may sound a bit silly, but often we’re in a culture where people think a scientist or mathematician has to be the crazy person locked up in a room working by ourselves.
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Sometimes my friends ask questions that they’re afraid are silly.
Weight lifting is this planetary scientist’s pastime|Bryn Nelson|March 10, 2020|Science News For Students
I suspect when we look back in 100 years, or maybe even 50 years, we’ll be astonished at how silly many of the ideas we currently hold near and dear to our hearts are actually wrong.
Few questions, no matter how fun and silly, go by without circling back to their accomplishments or future projects.
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The 1996 filing (which you can check out here) was, naturally, as silly and frivolous as the boycott push that came before it.
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The other one is silly and perhaps because of that even more cringe-worthy.
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In the same way Mr. Philip can blether to his silly heart's content and he'll never prove that I'm a bold girl.
The Judge|Rebecca West
There are some in the house and neighbourhood who are silly enough as it is.
A Book of Ghosts|Sabine Baring-Gould
Josh saw them starting toward him as if under the impression that he would be silly enough to await their coming.
The Big Five Motorcycle Boys on the Battle Line|Ralph Marlow
Graham promptly answered: "Yes, silly—she'll wear goatskin—and she'll yodel."
Highacres|Jane Abbott
It will depend on whether my silly husband wants to stay with his wretch of a baby.
Alice Sit-By-The-Fire|J. M. Barrie
British Dictionary definitions for silly
silly
/ (ˈsɪlɪ) /
adjective-lieror-liest
lacking in good sense; absurd
frivolous, trivial, or superficial
feeble-minded
dazed, as from a blow
obsoletehomely or humble
noun
(modifier)cricket(of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicketsilly mid-on
Also called: silly-billyplural-liesinformala foolish person
Derived forms of silly
silliness, noun
Word Origin for silly
C15 (in the sense: pitiable, hence the later senses: foolish): from Old English sǣlig (unattested) happy, from sǣl happiness; related to Gothic sēls good
Better Words To Use Instead Of “Crazy”We live in a crazy world, but it's also topsy-turvy and unpredictable. With all the different uses of "crazy," here's a useful list of words to use instead.
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Is “Silly” A Positive Or Negative Word?Silly means "weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer," or "absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea," or "stunned; dazed." But, did it always mean these things? Why does everyone think it's such an endearing word?