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Silly vs Buffoon - What's the difference?

silly | buffoon |

As nouns the difference between silly and buffoon

is that silly is (colloquial) a silly person; a fool while buffoon is one who acts in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.

As an adjective silly

is (label) pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.

As a verb buffoon is

to behave like a.

silly

English

Adjective

(er)
  • (label) Pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.
  • * 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , I.vi:
    • A silly man, in simple weedes forworne, / And soild with dust of the long dried way; / His sandales were with toilesome trauell torne, / And face all tand with scorching sunny ray
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
    • After long storms with which my silly bark was tossed sore.
  • * (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
    • The silly buckets on the deck.
  • (label) Simple, unsophisticated, ordinary; rustic, ignorant.
  • * 1633 , (John Donne), "Sapho to Philænis":
    • For, if we justly call each silly man'' / A ''little island , What shall we call thee than?
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • A fourth man, in a silly habit.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
    • All that did their silly thoughts so busy keep.
  • Foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom; frivolous, trifling.
  • Irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors.
  • Semiconscious, witless.
  • (label) Of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short.
  • Simple, not intelligent, unrefined.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1935, author= George Goodchild
    • , title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1 , passage=“Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke
  • (label) Happy; fortunate; blessed.
    • (Chaucer)
  • (label) Harmless; innocent; inoffensive.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
    • The silly virgin strove him to withstand.
  • * Robynson (More's Utopia)
    • A silly , innocent hare murdered of a dog.

    Derived terms

    * sillily (adverb) * silly season

    Antonyms

    * ("playful"): pious

    Synonyms

    * ("playful"): charming

    Noun

    (sillies)
  • (colloquial) A silly person; a fool.
  • (colloquial) A mistake.

    • Anagrams

    * * * 1000 English basic words

    buffoon

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who acts in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
  • * Melmoth
    • To divert the audience with buffoon postures and antic dances.
  • (pejorative) An unintentionally ridiculous person.

    • Usage notes

    * In the United States the term is used most commonly to describe inappropriate, clownish figures on the public stage; here the behavior of a variety of public figures have caused them to be described as buffoons by their political opponents. * In the UK the term is used more broadly, to describe such people who are held in popular regard but who nevertheless engender amusement with their pronouncements and acts.

    Derived terms

    * buffoonery

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To behave like a
  • * {{quote-news, 1988, January 22, Henry Sheehan, Little Boy Blue, Chicago Reader citation
    • , passage=His mimicry of gay speech and facial expressions is analagous to an Amos 'n' Andy routine, in which white men buffooned their way through incredibly demeaning impersonations of black men.}}