asinine
[ as-uh-nahyn ]
/ ˈæs əˌnaɪn /
adjective
foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid: It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.
of or like an ass: asinine obstinacy; asinine features.
RELATED CONTENT
Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Are These Traits For Animals Or Humans?Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …
Nearby words
Related formsas·i·nine·ly, adverbas·i·nin·i·ty [as-uh-nin-i-tee] /ˌæs əˈnɪn ɪ ti/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for asinine
British Dictionary definitions for asinine
asinine
/ (ˈæsɪˌnaɪn) /
adjective
obstinate or stupid
resembling an ass
Derived Formsasininely, adverbasininity (ˌæsɪˈnɪnɪtɪ), noun
Word Origin for asinine
C16: from Latin asinīnus, from asinus ass 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for asinine
asinine
c.1600, "obstinate, stupid," from Latin asininus "stupid," literally "like an ass," from asinus "ass," also "dolt, blockhead" (see ass (n.1)). The literal sense in English is recorded from 1620s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper