1
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
the fatuous questions that the audience members asked after the lecture suggested to the oceanographer that they had understood little
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
ignoring the avalanche warnings, the fatuous skiers continued on their way down the trail
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fatuous
So although these actions may seem fatuous on the surface, the next four years will be about looking for the undercurrents.
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Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Second, this rationale for regulation proved to be illogical and fatuous as conceded by U.S. Courts and the Federal Communications Commission in the decades since.
—Carine Harb, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
This fatuous facial gesture is immediately relatable but also, as Locke discusses below, one that can be read in a number of different ways.
—Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Schools must accept that mission statements without curriculum alignment are fatuous; the way schools define themselves is through the experience that flows from their curriculum.
—Ray Ravaglia, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fatuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fatuous
Adjective
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In tribute to Michael Keane’s hair-pulling on Wednesday, Cerys Jones picked through the stupidest dismissals in Premier League history.—
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To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
Adjective
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To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
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No one should be defending activists who engage in the most foolish and dangerous actions!—
Adjective
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As Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, Witherspoon charted a memorable path from dumb blonde to Harvard Law School graduate.—
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Celebrities fight it out to be eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest.—
Adjective
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After the first Roundtable, Survivor stalwart Rob Cesternino — perhaps clued in by Candiace’s absurd conga line ploy to get people out of the kitchen — sniffed out that a murder in plain sight could be happening.—
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Contrary to what many may think, the researchers found no correlation between a person’s level of education and their capacity to believe in absurd conspiracies.—
Adjective
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Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.—
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When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.—
Adjective
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To say the road to the Super Bowl goes through Jacksonville sounds silly in the NFL’s grand scheme, but for a talented and decorated Bills group that never has won there, that’s the first stop on the quest.—
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Citing the Monroe Doctrine is silly.—
Adjective
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This simple taupe geometric style peel-and-stick wallpaper is affordable, easy to apply, and looks gorgeous without being too bold or loud.—
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The simple addition of zipper detailing adds a preppy energy to the top.—
Adjective
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Or why roads and other critical infrastructure projects now take untold years and insane amounts of money to complete, and by the time they are finally opened are already rendered all but obsolete?—
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In this abjectly insane political environment that Minnesotans have created for themselves, the federal agent has about as much chance of a fair trial as the Vikings have of winning this year’s Super Bowl, which is to say, none.—
Cite this Entry
“Fatuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fatuous. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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