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.

The concept is simple but wildly effective, with enough force to push the viewer past many of the film’s fatuous elements.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

You’d be unwise to look to the movies for economic insight—this one amounts to an extended fatuous argument that an individual who behaved like a corporate restructuring would be a psychopath.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

On Monday, he repeated the fatuous nonsense he's spewed for ages:

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2025

The money he makes, running the farm with his unmarried niece, goes to support life in the city for his fatuous, gouty sort-of-ex-brother-in-law, an art professor who “knows nothing about art.”

From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2024

Supermarket tabloids never provide an end-of-year list of false predictions by psychics, nor do the more upscale New Age periodicals, which, despite a veneer of sophistication, are just as fatuous.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

fatuous

Usage

Example Sentences

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