Definitions for silly
ˈsɪl isil·ly

Princeton's WordNet(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. sillyadjective

   a word used for misbehaving children

   "don't be a silly"

2. cockamamie, cockamamy, goofy, sappy, silly, wacky, whacky, zanyadjective

   ludicrous, foolish

   "gave me a cockamamie reason for not going"; "wore a goofy hat"; "a silly idea"; "some wacky plan for selling more books"

3. airheaded, dizzy, empty-headed, featherbrained, giddy, light-headed, lightheaded, sillyadjective

   lacking seriousness; given to frivolity

   "a dizzy blonde"; "light-headed teenagers"; "silly giggles"

4. pathetic, ridiculous, sillyadjective

   inspiring scornful pity

   "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett

5. punch-drunk, silly, slaphappyadjective

   dazed from or as if from repeated blows

   "knocked silly by the impact"; "slaphappy with exhaustion"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. sillynoun

   A silly person; a fool.

2. sillynoun

   A mistake.

3. sillyadjective

   Pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.

4. sillyadjective

   Simple, unsophisticated, ordinary; rustic, ignorant.

5. sillyadjective

   foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom; frivolous, trifling.

   I made a very silly mistake.

6. sillyadjective

   irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors.

   What a silly kid, he's always getting in trouble.

7. sillyadjective

   playful, giggly.

   The newlyweds called each other silly little nicknames.

8. sillyadjective

   semiconscious, witless.

   The impact of the ball knocked him silly.

9. sillyadjective

   of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short

10. sillyadjective

    simple, not intelligent, refined.

    John was prosperous and his helpless, silly father could be of no use to him.

11. Etymology: Phonetic variant of seely.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sillyadjective

   Etymology: selig, German. Skinner.

   1. Harmless; innocent; inoffensive; plain; artless.2. Weak; helpless.

   After long storms,
   In dread of death and dangerous dismay,
   With which my silly bark was tossed sore,
   I do at length descry the happy shore. Edmund Spenser.

   3. Foolish; witless.

   Perhaps their loves, or else their sheep,
   Was that did their silly thoughts so busy keep. John Milton.

   The meanest subjects censure the actions of the greatest prince; the silliest servants, of the wisest master. William Temple.

   I have no discontent at living here; besides what arises from a silly spirit of liberty, which I resolve to throw off. Jonathan Swift.

   Such parts of writings as are stupid or silly, false or mistaken, should become subjects of occasional criticism. Isaac Watts.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Sillynoun

   happy; fortunate; blessed

2. Sillynoun

   harmless; innocent; inoffensive

3. Sillynoun

   weak; helpless; frail

4. Sillynoun

   rustic; plain; simple; humble

5. Sillynoun

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

6. Sillynoun

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

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Silly

   Silly is a German rock band. Founded in East Germany in the year 1978, Silly was one of the country's most popular music acts, and was well known for its charismatic lead singer Tamara Danz. Her death in 1996 ended the band's recording career for 14 years. In 2005 the surviving members began to perform as Silly again, first with several guest singers, before choosing actress Anna Loos to replace Danz. The first album with the new line-up, Alles Rot, became the band's most successful to date, reaching number 3 on the German charts in 2010.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Silly

   sil′i, adj. simple: harmless: foolish: witless: imprudent: absurd: stupid.—n. a silly person.—adv. Sill′ily.—ns. Sill′iness; Sill′y-how, a caul. [Orig. 'blessed,' and so 'innocent,' 'simple,' A.S. sǽlig, gesælig, timely—sǽl, time; Ger. selig, blest, happy, Goth. sels, good.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silly

   Song lyrics by silly -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by silly on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'silly' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4120

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'silly' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1117

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'silly' in Adjectives Frequency: #465

Anagrams for silly »

1. silyl

2. slily

3. yills

How to pronounce silly?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say silly in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of silly in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of silly in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of silly in a Sentence

1. Nicolas Martin, Article c. 1995:

   Genealogy is based on the obviously silly idea that there is no such thing as a bastard.

2. Charles Comiskey:

   This is a little bit of a follow-through from late on Friday, when the prices got kind of silly because of month-end.

3. Jonathan Hutson:

   These signs are silly, because the Second Amendment guarantees the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens anywhere to own guns in their homes, as a matter of fact, no jurisdiction in America completely prohibits the carrying of guns in public.

4. Jane Austen:

   Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.

5. Billy Eichner:

   I've been shouting about silly things -- actors, Oscars, thing I've always cared about, but I want to use my voice to shout at people about more significant things.

Popularity rank by frequency of use