inane

inane — adjective

1. having so little sense, meaning, or importance that it is hard to take seriously

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

having so little sense, meaning, or importance that it is hard to take seriously — used especially about remarks, ideas, or behaviour that seem like a waste of time.

Example

Marta rolled her eyes at yet another inane comment from the back of the room.

collocation: inane comment / inane question / inane remark

The television presenter filled the whole hour with inane questions that told viewers nothing.

Common collocations
  • inane comment
  • inane question
  • inane remark
  • inane conversation
  • inane discussion
  • inane TV show
  • utterly inane
  • completely inane
Synonyms
  • silly

    less formal and broader; can describe childish behaviour or trivial ideas

  • pointless

    emphasises lack of purpose or effect rather than emptiness of content

  • vacuous

    more formal and literary, stressing a complete lack of intelligent thought

  • fatuous

    formal, describes a kind of complacent or smug foolishness

Antonyms
  • meaningful

    having real importance or value

  • profound

    showing great depth of thought or understanding

Usage Note

Applied primarily to what people say or produce (comments, questions, TV shows), not to people themselves.

Common Mistakes

The company rejected my idea as insane.
The company rejected my idea as inane.
'insane' means mentally ill or extremely unreasonable; 'inane' means empty of meaning or silly.

Word family

  • inanely
    adverbC1
  • inanity
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Silly is the broadest and most informal term, suggesting childishness or lack of good judgment (a silly mistake). Pointless emphasises lack of purpose or effect (a pointless argument). Vacuous is more formal and literary, stressing emptiness of thought (a vacuous stare). Fatuous is also formal, describing a kind of complacent, smug foolishness (a fatuous grin). Inane specifically combines emptiness of meaning with mild irritation — the thing is not just silly but also feels like a waste of time or mental energy. A remark described as 'inane' annoys the listener because it contributes nothing; one described as 'silly' may simply be harmless or childish.

silly ↗pointless ↗vacuousfatuous

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'inānis' meaning empty, vain, or useless. The word came into English through French 'inane' in the 16th century, keeping the core idea of emptiness — first applied to physical emptiness, then shifting to mental or meaningful emptiness, which is its only modern sense.