1
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
the matinee show was filled with a bunch of silly children making noise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
those silly movie producers who thought that audiences would fall for that gimmick all over again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter
had the silly notion that her latest marriage might last longer than her three previous ones
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
stunning news that knocked me silly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in simpleton
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silly
Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2025
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
—Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 2 Oct. 2025
When babies pull on the plush pineapple’s ring, silly Stitch will ziggle and shake, demonstrating cause and effect.
—Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Adjective
But no, sillies: Bradley is white, famous and pretty — no jail time for her!
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2025
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
—Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Noun
Is October baseball ready for a new dose of silly?
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 2 Oct. 2025
When babies pull on the plush pineapple’s ring, silly Stitch will ziggle and shake, demonstrating cause and effect.
—Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silly
Adjective
-
Steven Soderbergh’s revamp of the infamous Rat Pack crime caper is far more assured than the original, which was purely a goofy lark; here, there’s actually some care given to things like character motivation and the dynamics of the central Vegas heist.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Cooper gets considerable humorous mileage out of his goofy stoner role, starting with a guffaw-inducing pratfall entrance involving an exploding carton of oat milk.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
-
America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That is a ridiculous expectation to lumber on such a young player, but then this is one of the few times that one of football’s child stars — a name everyone has known for years — seems not only worth the hype, but at ease with it.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The piling on of hurdles, unforeseen challenges, and calamities is almost ridiculous.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
As Friday’s stabbing incident involving NFL alum Mark Sanchez slowly comes into focus, the team at Fox Sports seems to be just as bewildered as the rest of us.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Gamble, seeing there was no way to get anywhere with the chancellor playing the simpleton, opened the floor to softball questions.—
Thomas Meaney,
Harper's Magazine,
26 Apr. 2024
-
His competition was Forrest Gump, a feel-good studio drama that located America’s soul in a sweet simpleton played by Tom Hanks.—
Michael Schulman,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2023
Adjective
-
The long drive back to Yolo County late Saturday evening wasn’t such a bore for the UC Davis football coach, his giddy group of Aggies and suddenly weary and sleep-ready sons.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
5 Oct. 2025
-
The Brewers are giddy with the chance to show up the manager who left them for more money and supposedly a better team in Chicago.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The Eagles were undone by foolish penalties, including two flags that negated first downs on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter and one flag that extended a Broncos drive late in the game when the Eagles had forced a fourth down.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The real start of the Chalamet/Marty Supreme press tour came Tuesday night when the actor shared an incredible and absurd five-minute promo video.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
-
But these far-right personalities were pushing an absurd logical fallacy.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silly. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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