silly

1 of 3

adjective

sil·​ly ˈsi-lē How to pronounce silly (audio)
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 adverb
silliness 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
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
The scientific jargon is silly, and the acting is merely passable. Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 Hong Kong martial arts cinema legend Sammo Hung brought jiangshi to the screen with 1980’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind, a silly kung fu horror-comedy that features a hilarious set piece as Hung comically evades a hopping corpse’s herky-jerky attacks. James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
Adverb
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 At the same time, Keitel always looked silly imitating a Black pimp. Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for silly 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of silly was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near silly

Cite this Entry

“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silly. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

silly

adjective
sil·​ly ˈsil-ē How to pronounce silly (audio)
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 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on silly

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