SILLY

silly, punch-drunk, slaphappy

(adjective) dazed from or as if from repeated blows; “knocked silly by the impact”; “slaphappy with exhaustion”; “punch-drunk with love”

pathetic, ridiculous, silly

(adjective) inspiring scornful pity; “how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years”- Dashiell Hammett

airheaded, dizzy, empty-headed, featherbrained, giddy, light-headed, lightheaded, silly

(adjective) lacking seriousness; given to frivolity; “a dizzy blonde”; “light-headed teenagers”; “silly giggles”

goofy, silly, wacky, whacky, zany

(adjective) ludicrous, foolish; “wore a goofy hat”; “a silly idea”; “some wacky plan for selling more books”

silly

(noun) a word used for misbehaving children; “don’t be a silly”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)

Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

(of numbers, particularly prices) Absurdly large.

(chiefly, Scottish, obsolete) Blessed, particularly:

Good; pious.

Holy.

(now, chiefly, Scottish and northern England, rare) Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly:

(now, literary) Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.

(now, literary) Helpless, defenseless.

Insignificant, worthless, (chiefly, Scottish) especially with regard to land quality.

Weak, frail; flimsy (use concerning people and animals is now obsolete).

Sickly; feeble; infirm.

(now, rural UK, rare) Simple, plain, particularly:

Rustic, homely.

(obsolete) Lowly, of humble station.

Mentally simple, foolish, particularly:

(obsolete) Rustic, uneducated, unlearned.

Thoughtless, lacking judgment.

(Scottish) Mentally retarded.

Stupefied, senseless; stunned or dazed.

(cricket, of a fielding position) Very close to the batsman, facing the bowler; closer than short.

Usage notes

Silly is usually taken to imply a less serious degree of foolishness, mental impairment, or hilarity than its synonyms.

The sense meaning stupefied is usually restricted to times when silly is used as a verb complement, denoting that the action is done so severely or repetitively that it leaves one senseless.

Synonyms

• (playful): charming

• Also see foolish

Antonyms

• (playful): pious

Adverb

silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)

(now, regional or colloquial) Sillily: in a silly manner.

Noun

silly (plural sillies)

(colloquial) A silly person.

(affectionate, gently pejorative) A term of address.

(colloquial) A mistake.

Anagrams

• silyl, slily, yills

Source: Wiktionary

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Sil"ly, a. [Compar. Sillier; superl. Silliest.] Etym: [OE. seely, sely, AS. s, ges, happy, good, fr. s, s, good, happy, s good fortune, happines; akin to OS. salig, a, good, happy, D. zalig blessed, G. selig, OHG. salig, Icel. s, Sw. säll, Dan. salig, Goth. s good, kind, and perh. also to L. sollus whole, entire, Gr. sarva. Cf. Seel, n.]

1. Happy; fortunate; blessed. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. Harmless; innocent; inoffensive. [Obs.] "This silly, innocent Custance." Chaucer. The silly virgin strove him to withstand. Spenser. A silly, innocent hare murdered of a dog. Robynson (More's Utopia).

3. Weak; helpless; frail. [Obs.] After long storms . . . With which my silly bark was tossed sore. Spenser. The silly buckets on the deck. Coleridge.

4. Rustic; plain; simple; humble. [Obs.] A fourth man, in a sillyhabit. Shak. All that did their silly thoughts so busy keep. Milton.

5. Weak in intellect; destitute of ordinary strength of mind; foolish; witless; simple; as, a silly woman.

6. Proceeding from want of understanding or common judgment; characterized by weakness or folly; unwise; absurd; stupid; as, silly conduct; a silly question.

Syn.

– Simple; brainless; witless; shallow; foolish; unwise; indiscreet. See Simple.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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