First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
asinine
adjective as·i·nine \ˈa-sə-ˌnīn\
: very stupid and silly
Full Definition of ASININE
1
: extremely or utterly foolish <an asinine excuse>
2
: of, relating to, or resembling an ass
— as·i·nine·ly adverb
— as·i·nin·i·ty \ˌa-sə-ˈni-nə-tē\ noun
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Examples of ASININE
- … geniuses like Brando strike self and material together in a way that sets off some incomparable spark, radiating so much charisma that they get away with choices that would seem asinine from anyone else. —Jeremy McCarter, New York Times Book Review, 4 Jan. 2009
- The boss of Wells Fargo has called the solvency tests “asinine”. The aim of such behaviour is presumably to convince regulators to focus the coming clampdown on the weakest banks. —The Economist, 13-19 June 2009
- First the good news: There's one palatable piece of ear candy here, “Rocket O' Love.” While the words are asinine (“Shotgun, shing-a-ling/One, two, one two three, hey!!”), it's a hearty … rocker Billy Squier might like to call his own. —David Hiltbrand, People Weekly, 11 Mar. 1991
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Origin of ASININE
Latin asininus, from asinus ass
Related to ASININE
- Synonyms
- absurd, foolish, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, half-witted, inept, insane, jerky, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), weak-minded, witless, zany
Synonym Discussion of ASININE
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>.
Rhymes with ASININE
aerodyne, agate line, alkaline, androgyne, anodyne, anticline, Apennine, aquiline, argentine, auld lang syne, Aventine, Ballantyne, balloon vine, battle line, borderline, bottom-line, Byzantine, calamine, calcimine, Caroline, catarrhine, Catiline, celandine, centerline, cisalpine, claymore mine, clementine, colubrine, columbine, Columbine, concubine, conga line, contour line, Coppermine, coralline, countermine, countersign, credit line, crystalline, cytokine, dessert wine, disincline, dollar sign, down-the-line, draw the line, eglantine, endocrine, equal sign, Esquiline, exocrine, fescennine, finish line, firing line, Florentine, gas turbine, genuine, gregarine, infantine, interline, intertwine, iodine, Johannine, knotty pine, leonine, Levantine, Liechtenstein, limber pine, lubber line, minus sign, monkeyshine, morning line, muscadine, on deadline, on the line, opaline, palatine, Palatine, Palestine, party line, passerine, picket line, porcupine, psittacine, realign, redefine, redesign, riverine, saccharine, sapphirine, saturnine, second-line, serpentine, service line, sibylline, Siegfried line, sixty-nine, sounding line, subalpine, sparkling wine, static line, steam turbine, story line, table wine, Theatine, three-point line, timberline, toe the line, transalpine, Tridentine, turnverein, turpentine, underline, undermine, Ursuline, uterine, valentine, vespertine, viperine, vulturine, waterline, wind turbine, worry line
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