Nearby Words

inanely

[ih-neyn] Origin

in·ane

[ih-neyn]
adjective
1.
lacking sense, significance, or ideas; silly: inane questions.
2.
empty; void.
noun
3.
something that is empty or void, especially the void of infinite space.

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Inanely is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

Origin:
1655–65; < Latin inānis

in·ane·ly, adverb


1. pointless. See foolish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
inane (ɪˈneɪn)
 
adj
senseless, unimaginative, or empty; unintelligent: inane remarks
 
[C17: from Latin inānis empty]
 
in'anely
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

inane
"silly, empty-headed," 1819, earlier "empty" (1660s), a back-formation of inanity "emptiness, hollowness" (c.1600), later "silliness" (1753), from Fr. inanité, from L. inanitatem "emptiness," from inanis "empty, void, worthless, useless." Inanition is attested from c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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