fatuous

Word family

• fatuity
  nounC2
• fatuously
  adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Fatuous, foolish, silly, vapid, and smug can overlap, but they point to different weaknesses. Foolish is the broad everyday word for poor judgment. Silly is milder and can even sound playful or affectionate. Vapid describes something empty or dull, especially speech or writing, but it does not always suggest self-satisfaction. Smug focuses on the pleased-with-yourself attitude and says nothing by itself about intelligence. Fatuous combines both ideas: it suggests shallow thinking plus a self-satisfied tone, often in a grin, remark, or public comment. You might call a child's joke silly, a poor decision foolish, a boring interview vapid, but a speaker who smiles proudly while saying something empty sounds fatuous.

Common collocations

Etymology

Fatuous came into English from Latin fatuus, meaning foolish or lacking sense. Modern English keeps that basic idea, but the word often suggests a person or comment that seems pleased with itself while showing empty thinking.