1. exhibiting or indicative of a lack of common sense or sound judgment
a very silly mistake
2. weak in intellect
acting like a silly fool
3. playfully lighthearted and amusing
a silly sense of humor
4. trifling, frivolous
a silly waste of time
5. being stunned or dazed
scared silly knocked me silly
6. rustic, plain
The silly buckets on the deck,/That had so long remained,/I dreamt that they were filled with dew;/And when I awoke, it rained.
— Samuel Taylor Coleridge
7. lowly in station humble
8. helpless, weak
9. to an extreme degree
was scared silly bored silly
10. 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
11. 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 "Well then, silly, why not stay!"
— Edna Ferber "And who, then? Oh, the long line of sillies, light-weights, rakes, ne'er-do-wells, who … constituted society."
— Theodore Dreiser When the narrator describes women directly they seem … innately either sentimental sillies … or … pious hypocrites.
— Myra Jehlen
12. having or showing a lack of thought, understanding, or good judgment foolish or stupid
13. not practical or sensible
14. not serious, meaningful, or important
15. to an extreme degree
16. having or showing a lack of common sense foolish
Silly me! I forgot again. What a silly mistake!
17. not serious or important
a silly reason
18. playful and lighthearted
silly jokes