asinine

American  

[as-uh-nahyn] / ˈæs əˌnaɪn /

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 British  

/ ˌæsɪˈnɪnɪtɪ, ˈæsɪˌnaɪn /

adjective

1. obstinate or stupid

2. resembling an ass

---

Usage

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. 

Other Word Forms

• asininely adverb
• asininity noun

Etymology

Origin of asinine

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