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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of silly
Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Our hosts are arch and fun and silly, and provided a great creative jolt this week.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Adjective
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
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
All the details, effort and care for positional detail made those conversations feel silly in retrospect.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Our hosts are arch and fun and silly, and provided a great creative jolt this week.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silly
Adjective
-
David Ketchum, the goofy comic actor and prolific TV writer best known for squeezing into such stuffy spaces as vending machines, trash cans and airport lockers as Agent 13 on the fabled sitcom Get Smart, has died.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Aug. 2025
-
But his fiery presence on the court—and goofy persona off it—have made Medvedev a fan favorite.—
Brett Knight,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
No Broward program can possibly be as wasteful and downright stupid as the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS).—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Aug. 2025
-
On the other side of the ledger, Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER!—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Modern women, embodied as a ridiculous but scary Martian, were challenging the status quo and pushing back against the patriarchy, the poor men who must defeat the alien threat.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Right now, Walmart has it for $998, that’s a ridiculous $2,000 off the usual $2,999 price point.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Olivia, bewildered and frightened, runs to the vast body of Tierra del Fuego to look for him.—
Jason Liwag,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Whites, bewildered and self-righteous, would find their way to Reagan.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
8 Aug. 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
-
Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons.—
Marilynne Robinson,
Harper's Magazine,
1 July 2022
Adjective
-
The girls are giddy; excited about their adventure.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
4 Aug. 2025
-
The East German guards, many still in uniform but without their lethal machine guns, seemed amused, almost giddy.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
2 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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silly. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
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