adjective
Usage
What are other ways to say inane? Something inane lacks sense, significance, or ideas. Do you know when to use inane, fatuous, silly, foolish, stupid, and asinine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- inanely adverb
Etymology
Origin of inane
First recorded in 1655–65, inane is from the Latin word inānis
Explanation
If something is inane, it's silly or senseless. If you just want to space out, you won't mind the inane chatter on TV, as long as it's on. Inane comes from the Latin inanis, for empty, and you can think of it as empty-headed. We call something inane if it states the obvious, or is really silly in a way that seems unintelligent. If you give your boss a presentation in a bunny suit and sing a song about being happy, she might say, "Get out of here with your inane bunny act!" Other synonyms are stupid, vacuous, ridiculous, pointless.
Vocabulary lists containing inane
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Catcher in the Rye
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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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.
With his inane bleating on television about taking over the world, Graham sounded unhinged.
From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026
After all, I am only in the store a few minutes a week and can readily suck it up and ignore the discombobulatingly inane strains of “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” blaring overhead.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025
Privately, they have explained to me that it is the manager’s decision to blast inane, Paleolithic Rick Astley tunes at ear-shattering volumes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 15, 2025
The uproar even produced this exquisitely inane headline from the New York Times: “What Charlie Kirk Could Mean for the Future of Marriage.”
From Salon • Sep. 28, 2025
But if a grownup American of indeterminable age asked her for directions, invariably speaking too quickly, she merely shrugged and smiled an inane smile.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
