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 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 Leo Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the local pencil factory, thinks the whole event is asinine, but the sticky, creeping quality of that melody should be a warning. Vulture, 16 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asinine
Adjective
  • Jess: The curds themselves are crispy, but the toast is stupid.
    Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The dialogue wasn’t dumbed down and stupid comic book stuff.
    William Earl, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • My point wasn’t that men have had a harder time than women — that would be absurd.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Given the already substantial spend on incoming transfers, suggesting the club needs more, possibly sending its spending past the $500 million mark, seems absurd, almost greedy.
    James Nalton, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Alcaraz and Sinner are early enough in their careers that debates around their legacies feel silly.
    Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Evans described Steve as goofy, silly, and full of charm, with a love for food and people alike.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Perhaps outright incarceration is foolish, but some responsibility should fall on the parents’ shoulders.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Given that association with the Trumps and their circle defines the club, Donald, Jr., would be foolish to expect less than a fifth of any profits.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The emu egg—a two pound, eight-inch ovoid with a sultry teal shell gently speckled in pale green—seemed like just the right absurdist final flourish for an already insane endeavor.
    Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And jingoism, idiotic, is not patriotism.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 Mar. 2025
  • But, here, the characters suffer from the horror film syndrome of making one idiotic decision after another because that’s what the film requires to send the action in its intended direction.
    Scott Phillips, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Tauruses will go crazy for something chic, functional, and soft to the touch.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 9 Feb. 2023
  • Before getting into the chaos of episode 5, that episode 4 cliff hanger was crazy.
    Calie Schepp, EW.com, 6 Feb. 2023
Adjective
  • Though it's deemed an accident in the play by Queen Gertrude, Ophelia was considered mad and the possibility of suicide was not ruled out.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • When Fishbein visited the property on a recent afternoon, a mad nest of rebar and brick rose over the horizon of a chain-link fence on 23rd Street.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 13 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Asinine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asinine. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.

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