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
• foolishness
• daftness
• fatuousness
• preposterousness
• inanity
• nuttiness
• unwisdom
• stupidness
• lunacy
• dottiness
• imbecility
• witlessness
• asininity
• brainlessness
• stupidity
• nonsensicalness
• folly
• idiocy
• fatuity
• senselessness
• balminess
• ridiculousness
• simpleness
• obtuseness
• slowness
• dullness
• dumbness
• irrationality
• 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

Only in agriculture is the rule to produce as much as possible, this silliness to be redeemed if not by the market then by the government. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Minions & Monsters kept its familiar chaos intact, but its turn toward sentiment may have left behind some of the pure silliness that built its core audience at home. — David Deal, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Karaoke, whether at a public bar or in one of the private rooms available in most cities, is commitment-free silliness and one of the easiest ways to shake off a long week. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026

The silliness of that aspect of the story is baked into this interpretation, with several very meta acknowledgments. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2026

No, no jersey burnings or any of that silliness in the wake of Antetokounmpo working his way out of Milwaukee. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 June 2026

But what pushed the situation from the realm of silliness to sinister was a US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home in Caracas on January 3, 2026. — Joshua Hunt, Vanity Fair, 17 June 2026

Yet, away from the court, these two personify the best qualities of friendship and the silliness that comes with it. — James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 3 June 2026

That led to a whole lot of silliness. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 2 June 2026