Synonyms of silliness

silliness

noun

1

as in insanity

lack of good sense or judgment

she was both amused and irritated by the silliness of his comments regarding the movie they has just seen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insanity
• madness
• simplicity
• absurdity
• craziness
• wackiness
• zaniness
• daftness
• foolishness
• fatuousness
• preposterousness
• inanity
• nuttiness
• unwisdom
• lunacy
• dottiness
• imbecility
• witlessness
• stupidness
• asininity
• brainlessness
• nonsensicalness
• folly
• idiocy
• stupidity
• fatuity
• senselessness
• balminess
• ridiculousness
• obtuseness
• dullness
• slowness
• simpleness
• irrationality
• dumbness
• mindlessness
• unreasonableness
• dippiness
• feeblemindedness
• dopiness
• simplemindedness
• oafishness
• denseness
• kookiness
• weirdness
• doltishness
• ludicrousness
• fallacy
• vacuity
• gormlessness
• dim-wittedness
• laughableness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wisdom
• sanity
• prudence
• sagacity
• soundness
• validity
• rationality
• reasonableness
• sapience
• sensibleness
• logicality
• reasonability
• insight
• perception
• sagaciousness
• discernment
• sageness
• logicalness
• rationalness
• percipience

2

as in nonsense

language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense

stop this silliness at once!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nonsense
• stupidity
• nuts
• garbage
• absurdity
• blah
• craziness
• rubbish
• drool
• absurdness
• foolishness
• insanity
• jazz
• muck
• madness
• bunk
• hokum
• twaddle
• claptrap
• balderdash
• guff
• piffle
• humbuggery
• hogwash
• trash
• baloney
• malarkey
• bunkum
• beans
• trumpery
• poppycock
• punk
• folderol
• rot
• blither
• flapdoodle
• hooey
• blather
• bilge
• tosh
• fudge
• fiddle
• idiocy
• tommyrot
• fiddlesticks
• folly
• bull
• drivel
• crock
• senselessness
• bosh
• blatherskite
• codswallop
• hokeypokey
• blarney
• crapola
• nerts
• kookiness
• humbug
• fiddle-faddle
• applesauce
• horsefeathers
• taradiddle
• inanity
• hoodoo
• tomfoolery
• moonshine
• lunacy
• flannel
• imbecility
• foolery
• asininity
• slush
• witlessness
• fatuity
• rigmarole
• inaneness
• gas
• greek
• monkey business
• hocus-pocus
• hot air
• shenanigan(s)
• double-talk
• hoity-toity
• monkeyshine(s)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rationality
• reasonableness
• sense
• common sense
• sensibleness
• reasonability
• levelheadedness
• wisdom
• judgment
• horse sense
• discernment

3

as in lightness

a lack of seriousness often at an improper time

this inability to refrain from silliness is a distressing sign of professional immaturity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lightness
• glee
• cheerfulness
• frivolity
• levity
• flippancy
• frivolousness
• facetiousness
• cheer
• festivity
• goofiness
• childishness
• mirth
• hilarity
• flightiness
• lightheartedness
• joviality
• frothiness
• merriment
• light-headedness
• light-mindedness
• mirthfulness
• gaiety
• gleefulness
• puerility
• high-spiritedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• seriousness
• gravity
• earnestness
• solemnity
• soberness
• sadness
• melancholy
• unhappiness
• gloom
• solemnness
• depression
• dejection
• sullenness
• gloominess
• moroseness
• despondency
• joylessness
• heartsickness
• dispiritedness
• downheartedness
• mopes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of silliness

This was in response to the Heat letting loose with a whole lot of abject silliness during Tuesday’s intrasquad scrimmage, which actually is the perfect time for such antics. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

In their place is a broader vision of internet silliness that can mock everything from tech bros and political extremists to new age spirituality grifters and how-to videos. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026

Perhaps keen to that silliness, Showalter fills the early stretch of the film with amusing details. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Tom Hulce’s silliness undercut the heft of Mozart’s genius in the film. — Doni Wilson, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026

This bit of silliness was originally featured in the Win Column, the AJC’s daily sports newsletter. — Rahul Deshpande, AJC.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Its silliness, therefore, cannot have the emotional impact of the chicken-talk scene in Bocking, or the hot-dogs-as-fingers segment in the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once. — Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026

Someone to look up to, a glorious basket of positivity, fun and silliness. — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2026

Today’s crossword, constructed by Sunny Maharjan in his New York Times debut, has a soupçon of similar silliness (say that three times fast). — Sam Corbin, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026