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
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego could make this look silly in a few weeks, but their midfield is absurdly good.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 11 June 2026
Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for silly
Adjective
Guiterrez was killed just days before her 20th birthday and was described on GoFundMe by her sister as having the silliest laugh and biggest smiles, and giving the best hugs.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego could make this look silly in a few weeks, but their midfield is absurdly good.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 11 June 2026
Noun
But no, sillies: Bradley is white, famous and pretty — no jail time for her!
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for silly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silly
Adjective
-
All well and good—even if the log-line here may remind some of you of this goofy scene from the Sex and the City movie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Scott fares much, much better, grounding the movie’s goofier dialogue in broadly credible conviction.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Fans wear their favorite players’ name, beg for their autograph and spend stupid amounts of money just to be in their proximity.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Not every bee was successful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s such a thing as a stupid bumblebee, Loukola says.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The image qua image thereby becomes uncanny, slapstick, a bit ridiculous, a bit horrific—independent of its content.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
-
What was ridiculous was the jump at that point in time was $4 [million], $4 [million] $15 or $16 million.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
Kelli cries over how solid the Mwangi unit is, praising Gerald as a father and husband and affirming that Shamea’s ass is real, while everyone else looks on, bewildered.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
-
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was on the podium with him, took off his glasses and looked at his teammate with a bewildered expression.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Max initially dismisses Becky, a college dropout turned temp, as a bubbly simpleton, far below his intellectual rank.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
There was nothing giddy about Doctors of Philosophy’s reviews, though.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
Tomás drinks from the pool and is struck with an anti-colonialist revelation that sends him into a giddy frenzy.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Soon my entire feed was pugs and poodles and beagles and portmanteau blends with absurd names like golden doodle and cavapoo.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Produced by Heavy Lifting Productions in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Knighted follows a missing person’s case that spirals into an absurd documentary-style exploration of the sinister secrets lurking beneath the enchanting pageantry of a local medieval dinner theatre.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silly. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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