adj · adv · noun · 26 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈsɪl.i/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: Silly
homophone: Scilly
rhymes with -ɪli
CMU ARPABET:S IH1 L IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
They were laughing at a silly joke.
silly grin
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
Absurdly large.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: particularly prices
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Blessed
Good; pious.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Blessed
Holy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adj
Meaning 5
Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adj
Meaning 6
Pitiful, inspiring compassion
Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, literary, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
adj
Meaning 7
Pitiful, inspiring compassion
Helpless, defenseless.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, literary, rare
Examples
scared silly
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
adj
Meaning 8
Pitiful, inspiring compassion
Insignificant, worthless, (chiefly Scotland) especially with regard to land quality.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
adj
Meaning 9
Pitiful, inspiring compassion
Weak, frail; flimsy (use concerning people and animals is now obsolete).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
adj
Meaning 10
Pitiful, inspiring compassion
Sickly; feeble; infirm.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
adj
Meaning 11
Simple, plain
Rustic, homely.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rare
Qualifier: now rustic UK
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
adj
Meaning 12
Simple, plain
Lowly, of humble station.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, rare
Qualifier: now rustic UK
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
adj
Meaning 13
Mentally simple, foolish
Rustic, uneducated, unlearned.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
14
adj
Meaning 14
Mentally simple, foolish
Thoughtless, lacking judgment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
silly mistake
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
15
adj
Meaning 15
Mentally simple, foolish
mentally delayed or feeble.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Scotland
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
16
adj
Meaning 16
Mentally simple, foolish
Stupefied, senseless; stunned or dazed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
17
adj
Meaning 17
Very close to the batsman, facing the bowler; closer than short.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
From Middle English seely, sēlī, from Old English sǣliġ, ġesǣliġ (“lucky, fortunate”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, from *sāli; equivalent to seel (“happiness, bliss”) + -y. Doublet of Seelie. The semantic evolution is “lucky” to “innocent” to “naive” to “foolish”. Compare the similar evolution of daft (originally meaning “accommodating”), and almost the reverse with nice (originally meaning “ignorant”).
Across languages
Translations
233 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
onnosel
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Afrikaans:
verspot
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Arabic:
سَخِيف
(saḵīf)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Armenian:
հիմար
(himar)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Armenian:
տխմար
(txmar)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Azerbaijani:
sarsaq
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Azerbaijani:
səfeh
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Azerbaijani:
axmaq
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Azerbaijani:
qanmaz
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Azerbaijani:
ağılsız
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Basque:
ergel
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Belarusian:
дурны́
(durný)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Belarusian:
глу́пы
(hlúpy)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Belarusian:
тупы́
(tupý)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Breton:
sod
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Bulgarian:
глу́пав
(glúpav)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Bulgarian:
тъп
(tǎp)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Burmese:
မိုက်မဲ
(muikmai:)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Burmese:
န
(na.)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Burmese:
မိုက်
(muik)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Burmese:
တုံးတာ
(tum:ta)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Burmese:
တုံး
(tum:)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Catalan:
ximple
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Catalan:
ximplet
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Catalan:
fava
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Catalan:
babau
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
愚蠢
(yúchǔn)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
笨
(bèn)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
傻
(shǎ)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
糊塗 /糊涂
(hútu)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
無聊 /无聊
(wúliáo)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Chinese Mandarin:
憨痴
(hānchī)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Czech:
hloupý
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Czech:
pošetilý
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Czech:
bláhový
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Danish:
dum
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Dutch:
ondoordacht
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Dutch:
dom
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Esperanto:
malsaĝa
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Estonian:
tobe
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Estonian:
loll
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Finnish:
typerä
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Finnish:
hölmö
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
sot
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
insensé
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
idiot
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
bête
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
fou
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
French:
stupide
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Galician:
parvo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
German:
doof
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
German:
dumm
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
German:
albern
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Greek:
σαχλός
(sachlós)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Greek:
χαζός
(chazós)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Greek:
ανόητος
(anóitos)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ancient Greek:
ἄφρων
(áphrōn)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ancient Greek:
ἀβέλτερος
(abélteros)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hawaiian:
kohu ʻole
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hebrew:
מטופש
(metupásh)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hebrew:
טיפשי
(tipshí)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hindi:
मूर्ख
(mūrkh)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hungarian:
buta
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Hungarian:
csacsi
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ido:
stulta
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Indonesian:
bodoh
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Indonesian:
konyol
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ingrian:
humppa
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Interlingua:
fatue
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Irish:
aertha
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Irish:
gamalach
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Italian:
sciocco
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Japanese:
馬鹿げた
(bakageta)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Japanese:
他愛ない
(tawainai)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Japanese:
馬鹿
(baka)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Khmer:
ដែលភ្លីភ្លើ
(dael plii-pləə)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Korean:
어리석다
(eoriseokda)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Lao:
ຈ້າ
(chā)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latin:
stultus
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latin:
fatuus
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latin:
ineptus
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latin:
excors
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latvian:
muļķīgs
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Latvian:
dumjš
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Low German:
sellig
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Macedonian:
глупав
(glupav)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Manx:
meecheeallagh
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Māori:
rūrūwai
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Māori:
wawau
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Marathi:
फालतू
(phāltū)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Norwegian Bokmål:
dum
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Norwegian Bokmål:
teit
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Norwegian Nynorsk:
teit
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Norwegian Nynorsk:
fjollete
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Church Slavic:
глоупъ
(glupŭ)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Polish:
głupi
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Portuguese:
bobo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Portuguese:
tolo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Portuguese:
ingénuo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Romagnol:
stòpid
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Romanian:
prost
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Romanian:
neghiob
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Romanian:
nătâng
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Romanian:
nerod
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Russian:
глу́пый
(glúpyj)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Russian:
дурно́й
(durnój)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Russian:
тупо́й
(tupój)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Sanskrit:
दुर्मति
(durmati)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Scottish Gaelic:
amaideach
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Scottish Gaelic:
faoin
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Serbo-Croatian:
глу̑п
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Serbo-Croatian:
блесав
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Serbo-Croatian:
glȗp
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Serbo-Croatian:
blesav
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Slovak:
hlúpy
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Slovene:
neumen
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Slovene:
butast
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Slovene:
trapast
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Slovene:
glúp
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Spanish:
bobo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Spanish:
tonto
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Spanish:
niñito
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Spanish:
lelo
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Swedish:
dum
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Thai:
โง่
(ngôo)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Tongan:
laupisi
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Turkish:
aptal
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Turkish:
saf
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ottoman Turkish:
خفیف
(hafif)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ukrainian:
дурни́й
(durnýj)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Ukrainian:
тупи́й
(tupýj)
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
Vietnamese:
ngu
— foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom