sillier; silliest
1
2
: being stunned or dazed
scared silly
knocked me silly
3
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
Charles Isherwood
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
D. H. Lawrence"Well then, silly, why not stay!"—Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber"And who, then? Oh, the long line of sillies, light-weights, rakes, ne'er-do-wells, who … constituted society."—Theodore Dreiser
Theodore DreiserWhen the narrator describes women directly they seem … innately either sentimental sillies … or … pious hypocrites.—Myra Jehlen
Myra Jehlen
Synonyms
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.
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Recent Examples on the WebAdrienne So, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
The YouTuber had risen to fame for her satirical alter ego Miranda Sings, a silly character with a bizarre singing style and lack of self-awareness.
—Angela Yang, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2023
Imagine never knowing the character-building satisfactions of menial chores like vacuuming and cleaning toilets, tasks that must seem so silly to her rich classmates, since their cleaning lady handles them each week.
—Heather Havrilesky, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
Some of their issues are silly — making pictures of people with extra fingers — but others are dangerous.
—Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
In a silly segment on Piers Morgan Tonight in 2013, Perry guest hosted the news show and brought Kudrow along as a special guest.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
The current political climate is both so silly and so dangerous.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2023
And while most of the antics many have come to expect from the category — stunts and tricks like smoke and sparklers as well as shady moves like blocking competitors with props or spraying silly string — were largely absent, the competition was still hot.
—Mikelle Street, Essence, 14 Nov. 2023
This has been decried by many as being dangerous and silly, especially coming from such a safety-forward brand, with naysayers saying Polestar is needlessly sacrificing visibility for the sake of style and attention-grabbing headlines.
—Daniel Golson, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023
David Pierce, The Verge, 14 Sep. 2023
Rocky also shared multiple other photos of the three posing for the cameras and acting silly in the mirror.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 1 June 2023
Any worker that’s going to throw a selfish, silly fit over something that keeps their bosses — that’s us — safe deserves the dismissal that’s coming their way.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2021
Caring about something so silly felt good.
—Kate Knibbs, Wired, 22 Dec. 2020
On the other hand, silly dare ideas are bound to provide endless laughter while tightening your bond.
—Leah Campano, Seventeen, 23 Mar. 2023
The Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars won their Supporting Actor awards at the top of the show, so the two reliably high-energy awards-season presences were able to go full silly Billy for the rest of the night.
—Vulture, 13 Mar. 2023
To be fair, the story is largely about the insular and silly-sounding vocabulary of designers.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2022
The film is a sensory smorgasbord, the scuba diving adventure of your dreams, especially when seen on a massive screen in 3D with huge speakers, and would be downright silly viewed on a smartphone.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2022
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Adjective
Photograph: Jackrabbit Even big men like to zip around looking silly on my tiny electric motorbike.
—Adrienne So, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
The YouTuber had risen to fame for her satirical alter ego Miranda Sings, a silly character with a bizarre singing style and lack of self-awareness.
—Angela Yang, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2023
Imagine never knowing the character-building satisfactions of menial chores like vacuuming and cleaning toilets, tasks that must seem so silly to her rich classmates, since their cleaning lady handles them each week.
—Heather Havrilesky, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023
Some of their issues are silly — making pictures of people with extra fingers — but others are dangerous.
—Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
In a silly segment on Piers Morgan Tonight in 2013, Perry guest hosted the news show and brought Kudrow along as a special guest.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
The current political climate is both so silly and so dangerous.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2023
And while most of the antics many have come to expect from the category — stunts and tricks like smoke and sparklers as well as shady moves like blocking competitors with props or spraying silly string — were largely absent, the competition was still hot.
—Mikelle Street, Essence, 14 Nov. 2023
This has been decried by many as being dangerous and silly, especially coming from such a safety-forward brand, with naysayers saying Polestar is needlessly sacrificing visibility for the sake of style and attention-grabbing headlines.
—Daniel Golson, The Verge, 14 Nov. 2023
Adverb
The Tumbler, like everything else Ember makes, is a silly guilty pleasure of a device.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 14 Sep. 2023
Rocky also shared multiple other photos of the three posing for the cameras and acting silly in the mirror.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 1 June 2023
Any worker that’s going to throw a selfish, silly fit over something that keeps their bosses — that’s us — safe deserves the dismissal that’s coming their way.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2021
Caring about something so silly felt good.
—Kate Knibbs, Wired, 22 Dec. 2020
On the other hand, silly dare ideas are bound to provide endless laughter while tightening your bond.
—Leah Campano, Seventeen, 23 Mar. 2023
The Everything Everywhere All at Once co-stars won their Supporting Actor awards at the top of the show, so the two reliably high-energy awards-season presences were able to go full silly Billy for the rest of the night.
—Vulture, 13 Mar. 2023
To be fair, the story is largely about the insular and silly-sounding vocabulary of designers.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2022
The film is a sensory smorgasbord, the scuba diving adventure of your dreams, especially when seen on a massive screen in 3D with huge speakers, and would be downright silly viewed on a smartphone.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2022
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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
Phrases Containing silly
Dictionary Entries Near silly
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silly. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on silly
Nglish: Translation of silly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of silly for Arabic Speakers
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