1
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
the matinee show was filled with a bunch of silly children making noise
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
those silly movie producers who thought that audiences would fall for that gimmick all over again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter
had the silly notion that her latest marriage might last longer than her three previous ones
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bewildered
suffering from mental confusion
stunning news that knocked me silly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in simpleton
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silly
Tom Gliatto, People.com, 24 May 2025
Obviously, Final Destination avoided that very silly ending, and Clear doesn’t mention a child in Final Destination 2.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Adjective
Paul Reubens, subject of a new HBO documentary, was in the closet — but his famous character wasn't
Comments
To love Pee-Herman was a wonderful thing, a silly and liberating thing.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 24 May 2025
Obviously, Final Destination avoided that very silly ending, and Clear doesn’t mention a child in Final Destination 2.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 22 May 2025
Noun
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
—Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silly
Adjective
-
Pair over Bluetooth, drop a shot into the app, add a collage frame or goofy sticker, and in half a minute, a wide-format print pops out.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
27 May 2025
-
Willy Memnon, who is endearingly played by Coleman Ray Clark as goofy, childlike and incompetent.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2025
Adjective
-
Not just on the training pitch but in the dorm rooms, talking about the future and giggling at stupid jokes.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
-
President Donald Trump said only stupid people would refuse a $400 million gift.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
The 30-year-old actor’s longevity is clearly due to his willingness to fully commit to his characters, no matter how ridiculous.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
27 May 2025
-
As Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt looped a single over the infield and into short right, the sublime gave way to ridiculous.—
Denver Post,
Denver Post,
26 May 2025
Adjective
-
Because, as the bewildered Jackson says in response, Who hates guitars?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
21 May 2025
-
Also speaking to camera, the various members of the Girard family waver between resentment and bewildered confusion.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
15 May 2025
Noun
-
Gamble, seeing there was no way to get anywhere with the chancellor playing the simpleton, opened the floor to softball questions.—
Thomas Meaney,
Harper's Magazine,
26 Apr. 2024
-
Americans, even or especially historians, tend to treat the early New Englanders as dogmatists: narrow, pious simpletons.—
Marilynne Robinson,
Harper's Magazine,
1 July 2022
Adjective
-
Lana Ferguson, author of the hit The Nanny has written a giddy summer love story between two unlikely roommates.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
22 May 2025
-
Simply buy some bait, hold it over the water, and get ready for a heart-pounding moment as the massive silvery fish leap up to grab their snack — cue the giddy screams, laughter, and plenty of photos.—
Angela Caraway-Carlton,
Miami Herald,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
To write off the Israeli leader would be foolish, especially with new elections not required until late 2026.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
-
His writing is so human—his people are foolish in such human ways.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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Read it because existence is absurd, and laughter might be the most intelligent response available.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
One thing that’s been a challenge to satirists in the last 10 years is that reality has become so absurd, with the dumbest possible things happening every day, that there doesn’t always seem to be another level for satire to go to.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silly. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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