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

Mandell never let his artistic seriousness stand in the way of his silliness. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Moments of mutual support and understanding, of belly-aching laughter and silliness, of care and deep love. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

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

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

The bit showed what the fiercely energetic and charismatic Murray could do, and, almost literally from that moment on, SNL viewers latched onto Murray’s signature mix of smirking silliness and performing courage. — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 26 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