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Shallow vs Silly - What's the difference?

shallow | silly | Related terms |

Shallow is a related term of silly.


As adjectives the difference between shallow and silly

is that shallow is having little depth; significantly less deep than wide while silly is (label) pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.

As nouns the difference between shallow and silly

is that shallow is a shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water while silly is (colloquial) a silly person; a fool.

As a verb shallow

is to make or become less deep.

shallow

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
    • This crater is relatively shallow .
    Saute the onions in a shallow pan.
  • Extending not far downward.
    • The water is shallow here.
  • Concerned mainly with superficial matters.
    • It was a glamorous but shallow lifestyle.
  • Lacking interest or substance.
    • The acting is good, but the characters are shallow .
  • Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.
    • shallow learning
  • * Francis Bacon
    • The king was neither so shallow , nor so ill advertised, as not to perceive the intention of the French king.
  • (obsolete) Not deep in tone.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • the sound perfecter and not so shallow and jarring
  • (tennis) Not far forward, close to the net
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=June 28 , author=Jamie Jackson , title=Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.}}

    Antonyms

    * deep

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.
    • The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow .
  • * Francis Bacon
    • A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but upon shallows of gravel.
  • * Dryden
    • dashed on the shallows of the moving sand
  • A fish, the rudd.

    • Usage notes

    * Usually used in the plural form.

    See also

    * shoal * sandbar * sandbank

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make or become less deep
  • * {{quote-journal, 2009, date=February 6, Andrew Z. Krug et al., Signature of the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction in the Modern Biota, Science citation
    • , passage=The shallowing of Cenozoic age-frequency curves from tropics to poles thus appears to reflect the decreasing probability for genera to reach and remain established in progressively higher latitudes ( 9 ). }}

    Anagrams

    *

    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