1 fatuous | Definition of fatuous
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fatuous

adjective
fat·​u·​ous | \ ˈfa-chĂŒ-əs How to pronounce fatuous (audio) , -tyĂŒ-\

Definition of fatuous

: complacently or inanely foolish : silly a fatuous remark a fatuous socialite with a near-pathological love of parties and shopping— Janet Maslin
Other Words from fatuous Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym What is the origin of infatuated? Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about fatuous

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Other Words from fatuous

fatuously adverb
fatuousness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for fatuous

simple, foolish, silly, fatuous, asinine mean actually or apparently deficient in intelligence. simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort. considered people simple who had trouble with computers foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense. foolish stunts silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior. the silly antics of revelers fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality. fatuous conspiracy theories asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception. an asinine plot

What is the origin of infatuated?

When we speak of someone being infatuated it very often is in relationship to that person having seemingly taken leave of his or her senses, especially in a romantic context (“he was so infatuated that he could not remember what day of the week it was”). This is fitting, as the word shares an origin with the word fatuous, which means complacently or inanely foolish. Both words come from the Latin fatuus (“foolish”), although fatuous is not often used in the romantic contexts in which we find infatuate. When used with a preposition infatuated is typically followed by with.

Did You Know?

I am two fools, I know, / For loving, and for saying so / In whining Poetry, wrote John Donne, simultaneously confessing to both infatuation and fatuousness. As any love-struck fool can attest, infatuation can make buffoons of the best of us. So it should come as no surprise that the words "fatuous" and "infatuation" derive from the same Latin root, fatuus, which means "foolish." Both terms have been part of English since the 17th century. "Infatuation" followed the earlier verb "infatuate," a "fatuus" descendant that once meant "to make foolish" but that now usually means "to inspire with a foolish love or admiration." "Fatuous" came directly from "fatuus." It's been used in English to describe the foolish and inane since at least 1633.

Examples of fatuous in a Sentence

the fatuous questions that the audience members asked after the lecture suggested to the oceanographer that they had understood little ignoring the avalanche warnings, the fatuous skiers continued on their course

Recent Examples on the Web

 Keeping these films as relatively low-scale high-school capers (buoyed by Marvel’s fat visual-effects budget) has kept Holland’s hesitant, kind-hearted Spider-Man from seeming like a fatuous flagship star. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Spider-Man: Far From Home," 27 June 2019 There, the Department of Justice has chosen to declare much of the act unconstitutional, on flagrantly fatuous grounds. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "The Trump administration finds another way to throw sand in Obamacare's gears, at patients' expense," 9 July 2018 By last weekend, the three European nations’ best effort consisted of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s fatuous grandstanding on American television. — Daniel Henninger, WSJ, "It’s Trump’s Iran Deal Now," 9 May 2018 Beria has the ear of Stalin's fatuous, weak-willed deputy, Georgy Malenkov (Tambor), and Khrushchev recruits the defense minister, Nicolai Bulganin (Paul Chahidi), in his scheme to outflank Beria by bringing in the Soviet army. — J.r. Jones, Chicago Reader, "The Death of Stalin shines a light on Lavrenti Beria, head of the Soviet Union’s dreaded secret police.," 15 Mar. 2018 Power doesn’t have to corrupt, the film suggests; many come to it precorrupted, as well as ignorant, fatuous and heedless. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘The Death of Stalin’ Review: Laughing in the Graveyard of History," 8 Mar. 2018 Gotti’s lawyer labored hard to make something of the fatuous hypocrisy that secured the government’s case. — Howard Blum, The Hive, "How Scared Should Trump Be of Mueller? Ask John Gotti or Sammy “The Bull”," 1 Dec. 2017 But unfortunately for Trump and Giuliani, an unconstitutional executive order does not become lawful because it is dressed up in fatuous legalese. — Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, "Trump’s executive order is an unlawful attack on Muslims that must be struck down in its entirety.," 29 Jan. 2017 In Cinderella, a handful of Disney creations nearly stole the show: the bloodthirsty but fatuous cat Lucifer, and the nimble mice, Jaq and Gus-Gus. — Lily Rothman, Time, "'Molding Myths and Spinning Fantasies': Read Walt Disney's Obituary From 1966," 15 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fatuous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of fatuous

1633, in the meaning defined above

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