Synonyms for silly
- adjective
- noun
Most common
ridiculous childish inane puerile empty-headed frivolous smart sappy
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Ridiculous — simple, plain Rustic, homely
ridiculous, stupid, foolish, inane, goofy informal US CA, daft informal UK AU NZ, childish, puerile, fatuous, dumb, absurd, simple, nonsensical, brainless, preposterous, trifling, pathetic, zany, vacuous, senseless, soft, witless
2. Frivolous
frivolous, empty-headed, light-headed, giddy, dizzy, feather-brained, air-headed
3. Punch-drunk
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Simple, plain Rustic, homely.
- adj. 2
Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
They were laughing at a silly joke.
- adj. 3
Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance. Absurdly large.
He cannot achieve celebrity by covering himself with diamonds... or by giving a silly price for a hack.
- n. 1
A silly person.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- sillies → idiots, ninnies, jerks, dunces…
Example sentences
- ridiculous That's the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen.
- childish Don't be saying that childish shit at the age of 30.
- inane I can't stand such number of inane trivialities.
- puerile Is this another one of your puerile jokes?
- frivolous Tom doesn't spend his money on frivolous things.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| silly | rising | |
| ridiculous | rising | |
| childish | rising | |
| inane | rising | |
| puerile | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- soft1, dumb1, jerk1, daft1, zany2
- 5 letters
- smart1, idiot3, goofy2, dizzy2, giddy2, booby2, inane2, sappy, dunce, ninny2
- 6 letters
- simple2, stupid2, absurd2
- 7 letters
- foolish2, vacuous3, puerile2, maudlin2, witless2, fatuous3, fribble
- 8 letters
- pathetic3, childish2, trifling2
- 9 letters
- senseless2, frivolous3, brainless2
- 10 letters
- ridiculous4
- 11 letters
- nonsensical4
- 12 letters
- preposterous4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (zany2 = 2 syllables).