sillier; silliest
1
2
: being stunned or dazed
scared silly
knocked me silly
3
1
informal
: to an extreme degree
was scared silly
bored silly
2
: in a silly manner : in an absurd or ridiculous way
talking/behaving silly
Benny Hill just walked silly, period, usually at high speed, to the accompaniment of cheesy pop music …—
Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood
plural sillies
: one who is silly : a foolish person
"But there," she told herself, "I am very likely a silly—meeting trouble half-way."—D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence"Well then, silly, why not stay!"—Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber"And who, then? Oh, the long line of sillies, light-weights, rakes, ne'er-do-wells, who … constituted society."—Theodore Dreiser
Theodore DreiserWhen the narrator describes women directly they seem … innately either sentimental sillies … or … pious hypocrites.—Myra Jehlen
Myra JehlenSynonyms
Examples of silly in a Sentence
Adjective
I hope I didn't make any silly mistakes.
The idea does seem a bit silly.
That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.
You drove in this weather? What a silly thing to do!
Silly me. I locked myself out of the car again.
Ask a silly question, and you get a silly answer.
“I can't ask you to do that.” “Don't be silly. It is my pleasure.”
What a silly little purse. It looks too small to hold everything that I'd need to carry.
I'm tired of watching silly movies.
The book was a silly waste of time.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024
Here was this band of rebellious and silly kids in bright clothes rapping their asses off.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
Much of its lexicon sounds both unapproachable and, well, just weird: sticky wicket, googly, yorker, jaffa, daisy cutter, silly mid off, maiden over, tickle, nurdle, trundler, paddle scoop, popping crease, golden duck.
—Chris Heath, The Atlantic, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for silly 
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Adjective
In this show, everyone has their distinct personalities — Reneé as Leighton is sassy and dry and Pauline as Kimberly is sweet and a little silly, for example.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024
Here was this band of rebellious and silly kids in bright clothes rapping their asses off.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
Adverb
Ragtime has its moments of gripping drama and violence, but much of what’s stitching all this together gets silly fast if, as is the case here, there isn’t a solid intention in the binding.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
Much of its lexicon sounds both unapproachable and, well, just weird: sticky wicket, googly, yorker, jaffa, daisy cutter, silly mid off, maiden over, tickle, nurdle, trundler, paddle scoop, popping crease, golden duck.
—Chris Heath, The Atlantic, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for silly
Dictionary Entries Near silly
Cite this Entry
“Silly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silly. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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