silliness
Use Silliness in a sentence
i adjective
1.
weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer.
2.
absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea.
3.
stunned; dazed: He knocked me silly.
4.
Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket: silly mid off.
5.
Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
noun
8.
Informal. a silly or foolish person: Don't be such a silly.
00:10
Silliness
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Origin:
1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely
1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely
Related forms
sil·li·ly, adverb
sil·li·ness, noun
un·sil·ly, adjective
Synonyms
1. witless, senseless, dull-witted, dim-witted. See foolish. 2. inane, asinine, nonsensical, preposterous.
1. witless, senseless, dull-witted, dim-witted. See foolish. 2. inane, asinine, nonsensical, preposterous.
Antonyms
1. sensible.
1. sensible.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To silliness
Collins
World English Dictionary
silly (ˈsɪlɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj , -lier, -liest | |
| 1. | lacking in good sense; absurd |
| 2. | frivolous, trivial, or superficial |
| 3. | feeble-minded |
| 4. | dazed, as from a blow |
| 5. | obsolete homely or humble |
| —n , -lier, -liest, -lies | |
| 6. | (modifier) cricket (of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicket: silly mid-on |
| 7. | informal Also called: silly-billy a foolish person |
| [C15 (in the sense: pitiable, hence the later senses: foolish): from Old English sǣlig (unattested) happy, from sǣl happiness; related to Gothic sēls good] | |
| 'silliness | |
| —n | |
| silly (ˈsɪlɪ) | |
| —adj , -lier, -liest | |
| 1. | lacking in good sense; absurd |
| 2. | frivolous, trivial, or superficial |
| 3. | feeble-minded |
| 4. | dazed, as from a blow |
| 5. | obsolete homely or humble |
| —n , -lier, -liest, -lies | |
| 6. | (modifier) cricket (of a fielding position) near the batsman's wicket: silly mid-on |
| 7. | informal Also called: silly-billy a foolish person |
| [C15 (in the sense: pitiable, hence the later senses: foolish): from Old English sǣlig (unattested) happy, from sǣl happiness; related to Gothic sēls good] | |
| 'silliness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
silly
O.E. gesælig "happy" (related to sæl "happiness"), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll "happy," Goth. sels "good, kindhearted," O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig "blessed, happy, blissful"), from PIE base *sel- "happy" (cf. Gk. hilaros "gay, cheerful," L. solari
"to comfort," salvus "whole, safe"). The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (c.1280), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1576). Further tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories). Silly Putty trademark claims use from July 1949.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
As he grew older, bouts of silliness joined the lineup.
Gang's achievement has more to do with freeing us from such silliness.
Nowadays, looking around the nation, one sees relatively little in the way of epic silliness.
Come and join in the laughter, reduce stress and learn that silliness is great for your health.
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