sil|ly

sil|ly «SIHL ee», adjective, -li|er, -li|est, noun, plural -lies.

–adj.

1. without sense or reason; foolish; ridiculous: »

Baby talk is silly. Mamma says that she [Jane Austen] was then the prettiest, silliest, most affected…butterfly she ever remembers (Mary R. Mitford).

SYNONYM(S): senseless, nonsensical. See syn. under foolish. (Cf. ↑foolish)

2. of or characteristic of a silly person: »

silly behavior, a silly remark.

3. Informal. stunned; dazed: »

I was knocked silly by the news.

4. Archaic or Scottish. a) harmless; simple; innocent: »

His silly sheep, what wonder if they stray? (William Cowper).

b) feeble-minded; imbecile: »

William IV of England was called Silly Billy.

c) weak, feeble, or frail; sickly; ailing: »

She was but of a silly constitution (John Galt).

5. Obsolete. unsophisticated; rustic.

–n.

a silly or foolish person.

╂[Middle English syly defenseless, weak, pitiable; variant of earlier sely seely, Old English s happy < s happiness]