silliness
Americannoun
-
the quality of lacking good sense; foolishness.
The author pokes fun at herself and the general silliness of celebrity culture.
Her blog cuts through the contradictions, misinformation, and downright silliness out there about naturopathy.
-
absurdity, ridiculousness, or irrationality.
This “no-touch” policy occasionally devolves into silliness, as when a teacher hesitates to help a five-year-old zip up a jacket.
-
clownish, whimsical, or exaggerated humor and playfulness; unrestrained high spirits.
Our sessions included a lot of chatter, laughter, and silliness—exactly what sitting around a table playing games with friends is all about.
Etymology
Origin of silliness
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.
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw declared, external that Zendaya "saves this film" from "silliness and the generic déjà vu overfamiliarity that is always threatening to sink it".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
On the literal opposite end of the spectrum is “Nirvanna the Band the Show,” which ran on Viceland back in 2017 and just dropped two seasons’ worth of silliness.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
It seemed likely that the prosecution would ease up in person, recognizing the silliness of it all.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
The same sort of silliness repeated a few years ago when companies started stuffing references to cryptocurrency into their corporate names.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
At the last, the two of them were laughing so loudly they were almost paralyzed by their own silliness.
From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen
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.
