asinine

[as-uh-nahyn]

adjective

1. foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid.

   It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.

2. of or like an ass.

   asinine obstinacy;

   asinine features.

asinine

/ ˌæsɪˈnɪnɪtɪ, ˈæsɪˌnaɪn /

adjective

1. obstinate or stupid

2. resembling an ass

Other Word Forms

• asininely adverb
• asininity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of asinine¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin asinīnus, equivalent to asin(us) ass ¹ + -īnus -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of asinine¹

C16: from Latin asinīnus, from asinus _ass ¹

Example Sentences

A prime example is Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s asinine opinion that immigrants who are detained by masked men demanding proof of citizenship is only a “brief” inconvenience.

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As if to punctuate his asinine decision, Marin makes a braying donkey noise.

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The story struck the FBI as asinine — agents just did not act that way — but could it be disproved?

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He never quite gets around to addressing the grief that people might feel if a family member dies to prove some asinine theological point; he considers that to be "disastrous sentimentalism."

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“Playing a national championship on a Monday night on January 20 is one of the most asinine things I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.

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When To Use

What are other ways to say asinine?

The adjective asinine describes things that are foolish or unintelligent, as in asinine remarks. Do you know when to use asinine, fatuous, silly, inane, stupid, and foolish? Find out on Thesaurus.com.