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fatuous

[ fach-oo-uhs ]

/ ˈfætʃ u əs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR fatuous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly.

unreal; illusory.

Origin of fatuous

1625–35; < Latin fatuus silly, foolish, idiotic; see -ous

SYNONYMS FOR fatuous

1 dense, dull, dim-witted. See foolish.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR fatuous ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM fatuous

fat·u·ous·ly, adverb fat·u·ous·ness, noun

Words nearby fatuous

fatty metamorphosis, fatty oil, fatty tumor, fatuitous, fatuity, fatuous, fatwa, fatwood, faubourg, faucal, faucaria

Example sentences from the Web for fatuous

During one break in the filming, he was a fatuous British director, “exploring the essence of what we call cinema!”

The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure |Joe Morgenstern |August 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And “alkalinizing” someone in an attempt to improve their health is simple-minded, fatuous, and dangerous.

Alkalinizing Someone to Improve His or Her Health Is Simple-Minded, Fatuous, and Dangerous |Kent Sepkowitz |January 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I also won't repeat, or defend him against, all the fatuous charges leveled against him.

Hagel And The Neo-McCarthyites |Bernard Avishai |December 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
"They obliterated it with some fatuous piece of commentary about something else," Gough told the Guardian.

Escalating Row Over BBC Coverage of Jubilee |Tom Sykes |June 7, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Any argument about their constitutional rights is fatuous; you give up certain rights in exchange for a journalistic soapbox.

Olbermann's Wrist Slap |Howard Kurtz |November 7, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
"Very much pleased," the potato baron replied, and flashed his fine teeth in a fatuous grin.

The Pride of Palomar |Peter B. Kyne
I was not averse to seeing Chester rebuked for his fatuous behavior, and for tempting me to a deviation from strict duty.

Yellowstone Nights |Herbert Quick
He compared her in his mind to Catherine Bailey, and could not but feel that in his youth he had been blind and fatuous.

An Old Man's Love |Anthony Trollope
“You sure will,” agreed Toby, with one of his fatuous grins.

The Twins of Suffering Creek |Ridgwell Cullum
He now saw clearly in his fatuous visitor the conceit of the lady-killer, the egoistic complacency of the successful trifler.

Whirligigs |O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for fatuous

fatuous

/ (ˈfætjʊəs) /

adjective

complacently or inanely foolish

Derived forms of fatuous

fatuously, adverb fatuousness, noun

Word Origin for fatuous

C17: from Latin fatuus; related to fatiscere to gape