as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
dotty relatives that we have to endure only on Thanksgiving
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Recent Examples of dotty
People wanted to wear clothes at the cutting edge, which gave dotty fabrics woven by machine a natural fanbase among the society ladies who could afford them.
—
Natalie Hammond, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Jones, Redgrave, and an unrecognizable Margot Kidder as their dotty landlady bravely expose their vulnerability.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 June 2025
This set by Studio Bloom takes two breakout shades of the year — butter yellow and mocha mousse — and elevates them for the season ahead with a dotty design.
—Mica Ricketts, Refinery29, 9 May 2025
Now, one of the largest celebrations of Kusama’s dotty world will debut at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
—Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 9 Dec. 2024
Joanne and Morgan’s dotty mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), dabbles in the metaphysical to constant mockery; their gay father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), is rarely able to enjoy his own happiness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Natalie Hammond, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Jones, Redgrave, and an unrecognizable Margot Kidder as their dotty landlady bravely expose their vulnerability.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 June 2025
This set by Studio Bloom takes two breakout shades of the year — butter yellow and mocha mousse — and elevates them for the season ahead with a dotty design.
—Mica Ricketts, Refinery29, 9 May 2025
Now, one of the largest celebrations of Kusama’s dotty world will debut at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
—Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 9 Dec. 2024
Joanne and Morgan’s dotty mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), dabbles in the metaphysical to constant mockery; their gay father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), is rarely able to enjoy his own happiness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dotty
Adjective
-
Maybe the Pac-12 and Mountain West will look silly for not buying in, then watch as the NFC West bids against the Premier League and Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Hornets.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Since then, the fizzy dance challenge has exploded on TikTok, with tons of fans re-creating the clip’s silly dance moves in their kitchens, parking garages, living rooms, Times Square and hospital corridors.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But maybe Johnson isn’t stupid.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Even in contemporary political and intellectual discourse, there remains an attachment to a particular stupid southern conservatism, the ideocratic confederacy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When federal policy creates an opportunity to bring additional resources into a state’s education ecosystem, leaders would be foolish to ignore it.—
Susana A. Mendoza,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The fear of looking foolish lasts a moment.—
Brendan Keegan,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Pederson is something of a mad scientist with bats.—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s beloved novel has been driving people mad since the project was first announced.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Your day-to-day life would be insane!—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Defense lawyers had argued during the trial that Taylor was legally insane at the time of the offense.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Over the past week, a slew of cinematic videos of celebrities and characters in absurd situations have gone viral online, with one commonality –– they were created using a new artificial intelligence tool from Chinese developer ByteDance, sparking anxiety over the fast-evolving capabilities of AI.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
-
What was turbulent and confused in me came out as absurd and ornate in him.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This is the crazy season for college hoops.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Now, Josie dances this crazy explosion in front of her.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Anything else would be idiotic.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
-
To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
Gwen Faulkenberry,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dotty. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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