word-vault/dist/data/cards/si/silly.json

A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.

{
    "term": "silly",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "showing a lack of thought, understanding, or judgement",
            "sensetop": "it is silly to do somethingit is silly of somebody to do something",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a silly idea/question/name"
                },
                {
                    "text": "That was a **silly thing** to do!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It sounds silly, I know, but think about it."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her work is full of silly mistakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘I can walk home.’ ‘Don't be silly—it's much too far!’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The answers they give are plain silly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You silly boy!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It would have been silly to pretend that I wasn't upset.",
                    "contextForm": "it is silly to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It would be silly of me to say no.",
                    "contextForm": "it is silly of somebody to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "How silly of me to expect them to help!"
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "foolish"
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "stupid or embarrassing, especially in a way that is more typical of a child than an adult",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a silly sense of humour"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a silly game"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He would never dance in case he **looked silly**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I feel silly in these clothes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She had a silly grin on her face."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This is getting silly! I think we had all better calm down."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "not practical or serious",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We had to wear these **silly little** hats."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Why worry about a **silly thing** like that?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "extremely bored",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I remember being bored stiff during my entire time at school."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She enjoys it. Everyone else is bored silly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He walked along, bored out of his mind."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was alone all day and bored to death."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You must be bored stiff stuck at home all day."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Personally, I was bored to death."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to drink, laugh, shout, etc. so much that you cannot behave in a sensible way",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to not be honest with somebody, especially in order to gain an advantage over them",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Don't play silly games with me; I know you did it."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to behave in a stupid and annoying way",
            "labels": "(British English, informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Stop playing silly buggers and give me a hand with this!"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsɪli/",
                "audio": "si/silly/silly__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsɪli/",
                "audio": "si/silly/silly__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English (in the sense ‘deserving of pity or sympathy’): alteration of dialect seely ‘happy’, later ‘innocent, feeble’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘luck, happiness’. The sense ‘foolish’ developed via the stages ‘feeble’ and ‘unsophisticated, ignorant’."
}