Synonym Chooser

How is the word asinine different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of asinine are fatuous, foolish, silly, and simple. While all these words mean "actually or apparently deficient in intelligence," asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception.

an asinine plot

When could fatuous be used to replace asinine?

While the synonyms fatuous and asinine are close in meaning, fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality.

fatuous conspiracy theories

When is foolish a more appropriate choice than asinine?

The meanings of foolish and asinine largely overlap; however, foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense.

foolish stunts

When can silly be used instead of asinine?

The synonyms silly and asinine are sometimes interchangeable, but silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior.

the silly antics of revelers

When would simple be a good substitute for asinine?

In some situations, the words simple and asinine are roughly equivalent. However, simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort.

considered people simple who had trouble with computers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of asinine Speaking of people getting into hot water for saying asinine things, don’t miss Sabrina Impacciatore’s brilliantly inappropriate portrayal of Esmeralda Grande in The Office spin-off/continuation The Paper, which premieres on Peacock on Thursday, September 4. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Sep. 2025 Featured Presentations Final Destination: Bloodlines Family gatherings can already be a pain, but imagine that pain being asinine deaths that claim everyone one by one. Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 17 May 2025 What's worse than luring Robert De Niro to Netflix for a boring, soulless and asinine political thriller? Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025 Alonso may not be the priority at first base for the Bronx Bombers, but to say there is zero interest is asinine. Gord Magill, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024 Altman’s is a plainly asinine claim; a bunch of code running in a data center is not the same as a brain. Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2024 Comedy videos about customer service and asinine Atlanta eatery rules were already popular on TikTok but have seen major pickup since Lee’s viral videos. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2023 Rogozin's claim that the only evidence Roscosmos could offer of the Moon landings was a book by Leonov is asinine. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 May 2023 Damning emails, texts, and deposition testimony made public during the Dominion case revealed that on-air hosts and executives, and many others at Fox, privately said in 2020 that the vote-rigging claims against Dominion were asinine. Jennifer Korn, CNN, 20 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asinine
Adjective
  • The recent rash of CEOs Gone Wild is arguably even stupider than commonplace fraud, and a troubling sign that there continues to be a slippery slope of accountability for C-Suite leadership.
    Ian Chaffee, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The accounts team logs in right on time, and the stupid dance of platitudes that precedes every meeting at every company around the world begins.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There’s no denying that catfish noodling is an absurd sport.
    Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Barely any other media in recent times has given me an instant shock of glee or revulsion like this absurd anarcho-cartoon being stretched and squeezed to its most grotesque and wholesome clickbait limits.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Many kids find repeating these phrases satisfying, or silly, or just plain fun to say, Estevez says.
    ​Wendy Wisner, Parents, 8 Sep. 2025
  • There are no silly games being played.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Grace can be a frustrating protagonist, making foolish, self-sabotaging decisions in pursuit of fleeting pleasure and conditional approval from guys who, frankly, aren’t worth her time.
    Katie Rife, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Placing stock in anything but winning might be foolish, especially given the nature of how the Steelers quarterback operates.
    James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Stines’ defense attorneys, Jeremy and Kerri Bartley, say the sheriff was insane at the time of the killing and want his full mental health report – which is currently sealed – released to the public.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Making straight men insane comes with the territory on one of TV’s most-talked about shows of the last five years (House of the Dragon continues to rack up toward 10 million viewers per ep).
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s just idiotic foreign policy.
    Jamie McIntyre, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The Chiefs open with the J’s Friday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is patently idiotic, but at least the loser can blame it on the bossa nova.
    Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Jared has a constant calmness about how crazy the day is.
    Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
  • This is my second Moon Man, which feels so crazy!
    Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Can decades of quotidian contentment really hold a candle to the mad blush of first love?
    Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Poetry walks with me each step of my mad thinking.
    Rickey Laurentiis, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Asinine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asinine. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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