sil·ly

(sĭl′ē)

adj. sil·li·er, sil·li·est

1. Having or exhibiting a lack of good judgment or common sense; foolish. See Synonyms at foolish.

2. Lacking seriousness or responsibleness; frivolous: indulged in silly word play; silly pet names for each other.

3. Semiconscious; dazed: knocked silly by the impact.

[Middle English seli, silli, blessed, innocent, hapless, from Old English gesælig, blessed.]

sil′li·ly (sĭl′ə-lē) adv.

sil′li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	silliness - a ludicrous folly; "the crowd laughed at the absurdity of the clown's behavior" fatuity, fatuousness, absurdity folly, foolishness, unwiseness - the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
	2.	silliness - an impulsive scatterbrained manner giddiness frivolity, frivolousness - the trait of being frivolous; not serious or sensible lightsomeness, lightness - the trait of being lighthearted and frivolous

silliness

noun

Foolish behavior:

absurdity, folly, foolery, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility, insanity, lunacy, madness, nonsense, preposterousness, senselessness, tomfoolery, zaniness.

Informal: craziness.

Translations

سَخافَه، حَماقَه

hloupost

fjolleritåbelighed

Albernheit

bêtise

heimska

ocaggine stupidit...stupidità

aptallıksaçmalık

傻

silliness

[ˈsɪlɪnɪs] N (= quality) → estupidez f; (= act) → tontería f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

silliness

[ˈsɪlinɪs] n → bêtise f
I don't want any silliness → Et pas de bêtises.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

silliness

n → Albernheit f; no silliness while we’re out, children! → macht keine Dummheiten, wenn wir nicht da sind!

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

silliness

[ˈsɪlɪnɪs] n → stupidità

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

silly

(ˈsili) adjective

foolish; not sensible. Don't be so silly!; silly children.

ˈsilliness noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Most of these books were merely stupid, though some of them added the distinction of silliness. Among them, they brought the word 'cynic' into disfavor so deep that any book bearing it was discredited in advance of publication."

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The hymn must therefore be later than that date, though Terpander, according to Weir Smyth (16), may have only modified the scale of the lyre; yet while the burlesque character precludes an early date, this feature is far removed, as Allen and Sikes remark, from the silliness of the "Battle of the Frogs and Mice", so that a date in the earlier part of the sixth century is most probable.

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It was the smile that did it, convicting Joan in her own eyes of the silliness of her cry and sending over her face the most amazing blush he had ever seen.

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For that one moment he dropped his silliness and spoke with dignity.

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And when Wordsworth remembers his own rules and keeps to them there is no glamour, and his simplicity is apt to seem to us mere silliness.

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"Probably there's some new silliness about it," said Mrs.

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Among the third and fourth year students there was a certain amount of going to and from the trains in couples; some carrying of heavy books up the hill by the sterner sex for their feminine schoolmates, and occasional bursts of silliness on the part of heedless and precocious girls, among whom was Huldah Meserve.

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'In the pony carriage?' asked the Admiral, with the silliness of extreme surprise.

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Perhaps it's pure silliness, but I feel that I can love much, give much--give all, and in return, though I don't want all, I want much--and I want much more than your money would permit you to give me.

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Because his favourite wife, mother of his eldest born, had dared out of silliness of affection to violate one of his kingly tamboos, he had had her killed and had himself selfishly and religiously eaten the last of her even to the marrow of her cracked joints, sharing no morsel with his boonest of comrades.

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To-night, for the first time in my life, I saw through the hollowness, the sham, the silliness of the empty pageant in which I had always played.

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As to countenance--a wizened, wrinkled, sunburned face, and long, sleek locks of scanty gray hair; as to character--an incredible mixture of homely sense and sheer silliness; of a rich man's overbearing ways, and a total lack of manners; just the kind of husband who is almost entirely led by his wife, yet imagines himself to be the master; apt to domineer in trifles, and to let more important things slip past unheeded--there you have the man!

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