# silly

Pronunciation: say "SI-lee" /ˈsɪ.li/

## Adjective

1. Laughable or amusing because of foolishness or a foolish appearance.
   - Simple: Funny because of foolish actions or a foolish look.
   - _The comedian's silly walk had the whole audience in stitches._
   - _Of all the costumes at the party, the giant inflatable banana was the silliest._
2. Thoughtless; showing a lack of care or good judgment in what one does or says.
   - Simple: Not thinking carefully about what you do or say.
   - _Lending him money again was a silly decision, and she knew it._
   - _It would be silly to ignore the engine warning light a second time._
4. Absurdly large or excessive, especially of prices or amounts of money.
   - Simple: So big that it is hard to believe, especially a price.
   - _That coffee shop charges silly prices for a plain bagel._
   - _He's earning silly money streaming video games online._
8. Stunned, dazed, or senseless, as from a blow or a sudden shock.
   - Simple: Not able to think clearly because of a shock or a hard hit.
   - _The punch in the second round knocked the boxer silly._
   - _The fall from the ladder knocked him silly, and for a minute he could not remember where he was._
6. Insignificant or worthless, especially, chiefly in Scotland, with regard to the quality of land. *(dialectal, Northern England, Scotland)*
   - Simple: Having little worth or use, often said about poor land.
9. Of a fielding position in cricket: very close to the batter, nearer to the bat than the positions described as short.
   - Simple: In cricket, used for a fielding spot very close to the player who is batting.
   - _The captain brought a fielder in to silly point to crowd the nervous new batter._
   - _A sharp catch at silly mid-on ended the innings._

## Noun

3. A foolish person, especially one who is being playful rather than truly unwise; often used affectionately as a teasing form of address.
   - Simple: A person being foolish in a playful way. It is often said kindly to someone, as in 'Come here, silly.'
   - _Come here, silly, your shirt is on backward._
   - _Of course you're still invited, silly._
7. A mistake or error. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A mistake, like getting something wrong without meaning to.
   - _The accountant caught a silly in the spreadsheet before the report went out._
   - _I made a silly on the last question and lost two easy points on the test._

## Adverb

5. In a foolish or playful manner; in the way a silly person acts. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: In a foolish or playful way, without thinking.
   - _Quit talking silly and tell me what actually happened._
   - _Whenever their cousins visit, the twins start talking silly and can't stop giggling._

## Adjective

10. Rustic and plain; simple and unrefined in a countryside fashion. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Plain and simple, like life in the countryside.
11. Rustic, uneducated, or unlearned; lacking schooling or book learning. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: From the countryside, with no schooling or book learning.
12. Lowly or of humble station; belonging to the lower ranks of society. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Of low rank, poor and not important in society.
13. Holy, blessed, or pious; good and devout. *(obsolete, Scotland)*
   - Simple: In old Scottish use: holy or blessed, or good and religious.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Having an intellectual disability; of significantly limited mental capacity or development.
- (adjective) Helpless, innocent, or pitiable; defenseless and deserving sympathy, said especially of lambs and sheep.
- (adjective) Weak, feeble, or frail; of people, sickly or infirm; of things, flimsy or fragile.

## Origin

From Middle English seely, from Old English sǣliġ or ġesǣliġ ("lucky, fortunate"), going back to Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, and equivalent to seel ("happiness, bliss") plus -y. Its meaning shifted over time from "lucky" to "innocent" to "naive" and eventually to "foolish."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/silly (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).