silly
Americanadjective
-
sillier,
comparative
-
silliest
superlative
-
weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish.
a silly writer.
- Antonyms:
- sensible
-
absurd; ridiculous; irrational.
a silly idea.
- Synonyms:
- preposterous, nonsensical, asinine, inane
-
humorous and playful in a clownish, whimsical, or exaggerated way; showing unrestrained high spirits.
With a few April Fools’ Day tricks, students have a respite from seriousness and get to just be silly and laugh.
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He knocked me silly.
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Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket.
silly mid off.
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Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
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Archaic. weak; helpless.
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Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.
noun
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sillies
plural
adjective
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lacking in good sense; absurd
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frivolous, trivial, or superficial
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feeble-minded
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dazed, as from a blow
-
obsolete homely or humble
noun
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(modifier) cricket (of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicket
silly mid-on
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Also called: silly-billy. informal a foolish person
Usage
Where does silly come from? You have probably heard someone say that language is constantly changing. We are definitely guilty of saying that here at Dictionary.com. But what does that mean exactly? Well, the story of the word silly is one clear—and fascinating—illustration. Languages change in many ways. The sounds and forms of a language can morph. The underlying structures of a language can shift. New words are created. Old words die out. And as we see in the case of silly, the meaning of words can develop in some remarkable ways. Today, we generally use the word silly to describe something as “foolish.” Something silly can be amusing, as when kids make silly faces or play silly games. Something silly can also be, more dismissively, stupid. For example: The politician’s promises were nothing but silly pipedreams. But care to guess what the original sense of silly was? “Blessed.” We’re not being silly. Among the oldest recorded senses of silly—or, more accurately, the word that became our modern word silly—was “spiritually blessed.” Those senses are recorded in the early 1200s. So how did we get to “foolish”?Dig deeperSilly ultimately comes from the Old English (c. 450–c1150) word gesǣlig, meaning “happy, blessed.” Talk about language change! Let’s break this gesǣlig down. That ge- is an Old English prefix that was effectively lost. That -ig became -y, which is all over English today, as in juicy or dreamy. And sǣl meant “happiness.”During Middle English (c1150–1475), this gesǣlig developed into new forms (see our entry at the archaic word seely) and many new senses. The word acquired the senses of “holy, innocent, helpless,” then “pitiable” and “insignificant,” then “simple” and “ignorant.” By the mid- to late 1500s, silly had gained the meaning of “lacking good sense, foolish, irrational, ridiculous.”It’s hard to say why, exactly, but there may be something of a through-line in the incredible sense development of silly. Something “happy” can be considered “favored by God.” Something “favored by God” can be considered “holy,” and so “innocent,” which may be said of a small animal or child who is “harmless” or “defenseless.” (Are you following us so far?) And if you can’t protect yourself or you lack power, you might be considered “worthless” or “miserable”—and so silly apparently jumps to “foolish.”
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of silly
First recorded in 1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie “foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful”; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely
Explanation
Silly describes something that can't be taken seriously. You might not mind telling silly jokes, but you don't want to be told a project you've worked hard at is silly. Silly originally meant “happy,” which gives the sense of children's games or harmless jokes. Later, it came to mean “foolish”: silly ideas are looked down on because they're not very smart. Silly can also mean a state of foolishness brought on in a specific way. Your mother “worried herself silly” when you stayed out late, and promised to “slap you silly” when you got home.
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.
See Examples For:
"I've had times in my life when I haven't had that, through illness, and it's brought up that silly, sensitive soul."
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
One isn’t inclined to dispute the truth of Mr. Shadwick’s reading of this silly stuff, but one may make heavy weather of its presence in an otherwise effective account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"He said 'you're going to feel very silly while you're doing these scenes, but if you commit to it, it's going to look really sick'. And I can confirm, he was right," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
He could be silly or absurd or dry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
There are children depending on me, and their lives are more important than a silly argument with my sister.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The worst outcome I could imagine was a case of the sillies, sleepies, or munchies.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
Chilly weather brought out the sillies in our giant panda cub, who showed off his somersault style.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2023
Though once is enough for me, I promise not to find that any more offensive than those flag-decorated pubs full of World Cup sillies.
From The Guardian ● May 31, 2010
Those sillies thought M and Teddy were smugglers, and filled with jewels.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Oh, you sillies, it’s just that the power is out. Your eyes still work fine.”
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
If you want something much sillier that works for a group, Whirlyball is one of those activities I was skeptical about until I actually tried it.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
She says they bring out each other's sillier side and they spend most of their time on set "belly laughing about the most random things".
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The awards, which celebrate the sillier side of science, have held raucous ceremonies that see the winners showered with paper aeroplanes at universities in Massachusetts since 1991.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
Some of the sillier visualizations of heaven seem chosen to prove that filmmakers, no less than regular people, struggle to conceive its particulars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
"That woman has magic powers. She might decide to turn you into something even sillier than a mouse. A cockroach perhaps."
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
He understands how to use his innate magnetism to charm his way through even the silliest scripts, occasionally creating a dissonance between the film and his performances that makes even the duds memorable.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Then again, the silliest thing our species could do is resign ourselves to disaster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
But that might be the silliest insurance ever sold, akin to an Armageddon policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Parker suggests similar questions, like: "What was the silliest thing that happened, or what made you laugh today?"
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Isn’t that the silliest thing you’ve ever heard?
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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