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

The play’s Bohemian rhapsody is as full of light and life and silliness as its time in Sicilia is wrenching. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026

Back on the main stage, Mumford also stripped away the silliness and sarcasm. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Aug. 2026

Pritzker can do nothing about much of the electorate’s seemingly insatiable thirst for silliness. — Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Often derided by critics during its initial airing, the show’s silliness and lightheartedness has continued to stand the test of time. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026

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