fatuous

[fach-oo-uhs] / ˈfætʃ u əs /

ADJECTIVE

stupid

Synonyms

WEAK

absurd asinine birdbrained boneheaded brainless dense dull foolish idiotic imbecile inane insensate jerky lamebrained ludicrous lunatic mad mindless moronic puerile sappy silly simple vacuous witless

Antonyms

WEAK

aware bright intelligent keen sensible smart

Usage

What are other ways to say fatuous? The adjective fatuous implies being not only foolish, dull, and vacant in mind, but complacent and highly self-satisfied as well: fatuous and self-important; fatuous answers. Foolish implies a lack of common sense or good judgment or, sometimes, a weakness of mind: a foolish decision; The child seems foolish. Silly denotes extreme and conspicuous foolishness; it may also refer to pointlessness of jokes, remarks, etc.: silly and senseless behavior; a perfectly silly statement. Inane applies to silliness that is notably lacking in content, sense, or point: inane questions that leave one with no reply. Stupid implies natural slowness or dullness of intellect, or, sometimes, a benumbed or dazed state of mind; it is also used to mean foolish or silly: He was rendered stupid by a blow; It is stupid to do such a thing. Asinine originally meant like an ass; it applies to witlessly stupid conversations or conduct and suggests a lack of social grace or perception: He failed to notice the reaction to his asinine remarks.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Weil neatly disarmed this fatuous attempt to portray him as an academic with his head in the clouds.

From Los Angeles Times

The Olympic promise to bring people together, always a bit fatuous, is a flat-out fraud this year, because the public is forbidden to attend these Games.

From Washington Post

They are the ones feeding this story which you can easily tell by such fatuous nonsense as the immigrant-hating extremist Stephen Miller declaring the Biden administration "morally monstrous."

From Salon

Put together, the briefs make the points not only that the Texas argument is fatuous on its face, but also that the consequences of overturning the ACA would be dire.

From Los Angeles Times

On Tuesday, only five Republicans managed to reject Rand Paul's fatuous claim that the impeachment is unconstitutional, the vast majority signaling once again that Donald Trump can do no wrong.

From Salon

fatuous

Usage

Example Sentences

Related Words