1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
quickly realized that her suggestion was an inanity and withdrew it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in madness
lack of good sense or judgment
the jaw-dropping inanity of the singer's comments on the awards show
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inanity
Jibber-jabbering inanities, Cranston’s cohorts find a solution: Pour coke down his nose.
—
Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
Hacks takes no backseat in its send-up of show biz inanity, but with more heart along the way.
—Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Whether to get some space from his inanity, be able to spend more time with her ex-boyfriend, or simply encourage him to be a person, Tammy urges Craig to make friends with Austin (Paul Rudd), the affable evening news weatherman who moves in down the street.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 May 2025
Adams has conditioned New Yorkers to expect so much inanity and cartoonishness that the news was greeted with a kind of glee.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inanity
Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
Hacks takes no backseat in its send-up of show biz inanity, but with more heart along the way.
—Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Whether to get some space from his inanity, be able to spend more time with her ex-boyfriend, or simply encourage him to be a person, Tammy urges Craig to make friends with Austin (Paul Rudd), the affable evening news weatherman who moves in down the street.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 May 2025
Adams has conditioned New Yorkers to expect so much inanity and cartoonishness that the news was greeted with a kind of glee.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for inanity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanity
Noun
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Ellis has a history of schizophrenia, and her defense attorneys had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury ultimately rejected that claim, per the Cleveland Plain Dealer.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Maybe Clark can dust off Scrooge comparisons if this insanity lasts until Christmas.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet, the severity of gendered crime during Partition wasn’t caused by an arbitrary upsurge of madness.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
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But the true star of Robert Wiene’s silent classic is the German Expressionist set design, whose jarring angles and dramatic shadows enhance its tale of murder and madness.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Advertisement Aster keenly satirizes Joe’s idiocy in the face of social upheaval through the iconography of Westerns.—
Robert Daniels,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
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But my naivete and idiocy about what this was going to take was staggering to me just six months later.—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The absurdity of the image—and the simplicity of the complaint—also sparked a flood of lighthearted responses.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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McMillan chose to focus on pets, building his method around simplicity.—
Jane Stern,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Alps is really about the absurdity of acting in general, and perhaps the specific psychological burden of the Method in particular.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
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The costumes point out the absurdity of bringing National Guard troops into cities, Faith Gill said.—
Darcie Moran,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The restaurant is worth the trek, too, with relatively small, tasty burgers that are topped with all manner of craziness, from peanut butter to giardiniera to sauerkraut to pineapple.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
22 Oct. 2025
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Oh, and the milchiks, and flaishiks besides, all those meshuggeneh rules and regulations on top of their own private craziness!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inanity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanity. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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