as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
dotty relatives that we have to endure only on Thanksgiving
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Recent Examples of dotty
People wanted to wear clothes at the cutting edge, which gave dotty fabrics woven by machine a natural fanbase among the society ladies who could afford them.
—
Natalie Hammond, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Jones, Redgrave, and an unrecognizable Margot Kidder as their dotty landlady bravely expose their vulnerability.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 June 2025
This set by Studio Bloom takes two breakout shades of the year — butter yellow and mocha mousse — and elevates them for the season ahead with a dotty design.
—Mica Ricketts, Refinery29, 9 May 2025
Now, one of the largest celebrations of Kusama’s dotty world will debut at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
—Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 9 Dec. 2024
Joanne and Morgan’s dotty mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), dabbles in the metaphysical to constant mockery; their gay father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), is rarely able to enjoy his own happiness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Natalie Hammond, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Jones, Redgrave, and an unrecognizable Margot Kidder as their dotty landlady bravely expose their vulnerability.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 June 2025
This set by Studio Bloom takes two breakout shades of the year — butter yellow and mocha mousse — and elevates them for the season ahead with a dotty design.
—Mica Ricketts, Refinery29, 9 May 2025
Now, one of the largest celebrations of Kusama’s dotty world will debut at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
—Mae Hamilton, Travel + Leisure, 9 Dec. 2024
Joanne and Morgan’s dotty mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), dabbles in the metaphysical to constant mockery; their gay father, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), is rarely able to enjoy his own happiness.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2024
Smith starred as Joyce Chilvers, a small-town social climber in postwar Northern England whose hunger to be accepted by the elite locals isn’t helped by her dotty mother nor her underachieving podiatrist husband Gilbert, played by Michael Palin.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024
To play Sam’s dotty grandparents in Sixteen Candles, Hughes tapped a quartet of veteran character actors.
—John Russell, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dotty
Adjective
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But the tone swings between sour and sweet, grounded and silly, and the jokes run more broadly wacky than precise or original.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Oct. 2025
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In my eyes, much of the charm of a craft brewer is a willingness to be a little silly.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
-
America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The Eagles were undone by foolish penalties, including two flags that negated first downs on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter and one flag that extended a Broncos drive late in the game when the Eagles had forced a fourth down.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Whether these experienced hands can keep up with their mad scientists is less clear.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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David’s flagship product is an almost Frankensteinian creation, more mad scientist than culinary.—
Ashley Lutz,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This would be an absurd show of force, and totally uncalled for during a government shutdown when members of the military cannot even get a paycheck.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Knightley and Pearce coast and their characters never come alive and resort to doing silly things at this misfire’s absurd, regrettable finale.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Despite being found guilty, Gein was also declared insane and unable to stand trial.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
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The Sony Bravia 8 II 65-inch Smart TV is a living room flex with its insane color, crisp contrast, and movie-theater-like sound.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Many teams use crazy pre-snap motion to distract defenses, or rely on versatile, mobile quarterbacks to figure the chaos out.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025
-
The fans are going crazy, 50,000.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In Johnston’s reimagining, Jim and Credenza Twit operate the most disgusting, dangerous, and idiotic amusement park in the world, Twitlandia.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
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That’s just idiotic foreign policy.—
Jamie McIntyre,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dotty. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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