adjective
Usage
What are other ways to say fatuous? The adjective fatuous describes people or things that are foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner. Do you know when to use fatuous, foolish, silly, inane, stupid, and asinine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of fatuous
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fatuus “silly, foolish, idiotic”; see -ous
Explanation
Fatuous means lacking intelligence. When your mother outlaws calling your brother stupid, use fatuous instead. Fatuous derives from the Latin fatuus meaning "foolish." It sounds like it should have something to do with being fat, but it actually has no relation to size. Fatuus itself comes from a root that also gave us "debate" and this might be a good way to remember it. You want to debate someone who's fatuous, because they are unintelligent, silly and even a bit conceited, so they probably won't be very persuasive debaters. Just don't call them fatuous to their face. Even if they don't know what it means, it's just not nice!
Vocabulary lists containing fatuous
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It sounds so fatuous, but it needs to be a real thing. And if it’s not, people will know it. You can’t lie.”
From Salon • May 15, 2026
But at least they made an attempt, however fatuous, to persuade the American people and the country’s international allies that there was a reason for doing so.
From Salon • Feb. 24, 2026
Visually epic, sonically relentless and otherwise fatuous, the film has a dramatic inertia occasionally punctuated by eruptions of utter catastrophe—a series of shocks that leaves you singed, shaken and not much better for it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
Not buying that fatuous distinction, Muriel, whom Molaskey handily makes the most complex character among a crowd of cartoons, offers a rebuttal in what may be the only ode to fact-checking ever written.
From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2024
As she walked about the yellowing hillsides or worked at easy tasks, her lips were curled in a perpetual fatuous smile.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
