| English Dictionary |
SILLY (sillier, silliest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
, silliest Dictionary entry overview: What does silly mean?
• SILLY (noun)
The noun SILLY has 1 sense:
1. a word used for misbehaving children
Familiarity information: SILLY used as a noun is very rare.
• SILLY (adjective)
The adjective SILLY has 4 senses:
1. ludicrous, foolish
2. lacking seriousness; given to frivolity
3. inspiring scornful pity
4. dazed from or as if from repeated blows
Familiarity information: SILLY used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A word used for misbehaving children
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Context example:
don't be a silly
Hypernyms ("silly" is a kind of...):
child; fry; kid; minor; nestling; nipper; shaver; small fry; tiddler; tike; tyke; youngster (a young person of either sex)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: silliest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Ludicrous, foolish
Synonyms:
goofy; silly; wacky; whacky; zany
Context example:
some wacky plan for selling more books
Similar:
foolish (devoid of good sense or judgment)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Derivation:
silliness (a ludicrous folly)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Lacking seriousness; given to frivolity
Synonyms:
airheaded; dizzy; empty-headed; featherbrained; giddy; light-headed; lightheaded; silly
Context example:
silly giggles
Similar:
frivolous (not serious in content or attitude or behavior)
Derivation:
silliness (an impulsive scatterbrained manner)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Inspiring scornful pity
Synonyms:
pathetic; ridiculous; silly
Context example:
how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years
Similar:
undignified (lacking dignity)
Derivation:
silliness (a ludicrous folly)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Dazed from or as if from repeated blows
Synonyms:
punch-drunk; silly; slaphappy
Context example:
punch-drunk with love
Similar:
confused (mentally confused; unable to think with clarity or act intelligently)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Context examples
“How can you be such a silly thing,” replied Dora, slapping my hand, “as to sit there, telling such stories? I'll make Jip bite you!”
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I have had my pen in my hand to begin a letter to you almost every day since you left Bath, but have always been prevented by some silly trifler or other.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
I know I'm a silly little girl, and I'll stay with you till I'm fit to take care of myself.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
You are silly, because, suffer as you may, you will not beckon it to approach, nor will you stir one step to meet it where it waits you.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
He would be a harder, sterner man, not so ready to adapt himself to a silly girl's whim.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr. Knightley, he is not a trifling, silly young man.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
“How can you be so silly,” cried her mother, “as to think of such a thing, in all this dirt! You will not be fit to be seen when you get there.”
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
What a goose you are to do such silly things! said the husband.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Then I shall never know the real truth now! How silly I am.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
You’ve made a silly blunder, and you may as well own up to it.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Complete idiot who can keep silent, to a wise man is similar" (Breton proverb)
"A tree starts with a seed." (Arabic proverb)
"As you make your bed, so you must lie in it." (Czech proverb)