inane

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: in=ane

CIDE DICTIONARY

inane, a. [L. inanis.].

 Without contents; empty; void of sense or intelligence; purposeless; pointless; characterless; useless.  [1913 Webster]

inane, n. 

 That which is void or empty.  [1913 Webster]
"The undistinguishable inane of infinite space."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

inane, adj.
1 silly, senseless.
2 empty, void.

Derivative

inanely adv. inaneness n. inanity n. (pl. -ies).

Etymology

L inanis empty, vain

THESAURUS

inane

absurd, aimless, airy, apish, arid, asinine, awkward, bare, barren, batty, befooled, beguiled, besotted, blah, bland, blank, blankminded, bleached, bloodless, bonkers, bootless, brainless, buffoonish, callow, calm, catchpenny, characterless, clear, cockeyed, cold, colorless, counterproductive, crazy, credulous, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dazed, dead, designless, devoid, dilute, diluted, dippy, doting, dotty, draggy, drearisome, dreary, driveling, dry, dryasdust, dull, dumb, dusty, effete, elephantine, empty, empty-headed, empty-minded, empty-pated, empty-skulled, etiolated, fade, fatuitous, fatuous, featureless, feckless, flaky, flat, flavorless, flimsy, fond, fool, foolheaded, foolish, fribble, fribbling, frivolous, frothy, fruitless, fuddled, futile, gaga, garbled, gauche, goofy, green, groping, gruelly, gulled, heavy, ho-hum, hollow, idiotic, idle, ignorant, imbecile, imbecilic, importless, inadequate, incogitant, indifferent, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, inept, inexcitable, inexperienced, infatuated, innocent, innocuous, inoperative, insane, insignificant, insipid, invalid, jejune, know-nothing, kooky, laughable, leaden, lifeless, light, loony, low-spirited, ludicrous, lunatic, mad, maudlin, meaningless, mild, milk-and-water, moronic, naive, namby-pamby, nescient, nirvanic, nonconnotative, nondenotative, nonsensical, nugacious, nugatory, null, null and void, nuts, nutty, oblivious, of no force, otiose, pale, pallid, pappy, passive, pedestrian, phatic, plodding, pointless, poky, ponderous, preposterous, pulpy, purportless, purposeless, quietistic, rattlebrained, rattleheaded, raw, relaxed, ridiculous, risible, sapless, sappy, savorless, scatterbrained, scrambled, screwy, senseless, sentimental, shallow, silly, simple, slender, slight, slow, solemn, spiceless, spiritless, stale, sterile, stiff, stodgy, strange to, stuffy, stupid, superficial, tasteless, tedious, tentative, thin, thoughtfree, thoughtless, tranquil, trifling, trite, trivial, unacquainted, unapprized, unavailing, uncomprehending, unconversant, unenlightened, unfamiliar, unflavored, unideaed, unilluminated, uninformed, uninitiated, unintellectual, unintelligent, unknowing, unlively, unmeaning, unoccupied, unposted, unreasonable, unreasoning, unrelieved, unripe, unsavory, unsignificant, unsure, unthinking, unversed, useless, vacant, vacuous, vain, vapid, void, wacky, washy, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, wet, white, windy, wishy-washy, with nothing inside, without content, witless, wooden

ROGET THESAURUS

inane

Unsubstantiality

N unsubstantiality, insubstantiality, nothingness, nihility, no degree, no part, no quantity, no thing, nothing, naught, nil, nullity, zero, cipher, no one, nobody, never a one, ne'er a one, no such thing, none in the world, nothing whatever, nothing at all, nothing on earth, not a particle, all talk, moonshine, stuff and nonsense, matter of no importance, matter of no consequence, thing of naught, man of straw, John Doe and Richard Roe, faggot voter, nominis umbra, nonentity, flash in the pan, vox et praeterea nihil, shadow, phantom, dream, ignis fatuus, such stuff as dreams are made of, air, thin air, vapor, bubble, baseless fabric of a vision, mockery, hollowness, blank, void, inanity, fool's paradise, unsubstantial, baseless, groundless, ungrounded, without foundation, having no foundation, visionary, immaterial, spectral, dreamy, shadowy, ethereal, airy, cloud built, cloud formed, gossamery, illusory, insubstantial, unreal, vacant, vacuous, empty, eviscerated, blank, hollow, nominal, null, inane, there's nothing in it, an ocean of dreams without a sound.

Unimportance

N unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, Rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, trifles light as air, yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, leather or prunello, chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing, unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle-fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one- horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain, slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares, Int, no matter!, pish!, tush!, tut!, pshaw!, pugh!, pooh, pooh-pooh!, fudge!, bosh!, humbug!, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end!, fiddlededee!, never mind!, n'importe!, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for', stuff!, nonsense!, stuff and nonsense, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau.

Inutility

N inutility, uselessness, inefficacy, futility, ineptitude, inaptitude, unsubservience, inadequacy, inefficiency, unskillfulness, disservice, unfruitfulness (unproductiveness), labor in vain, labor lost, labor of Sisyphus, lost trouble, lost labor, work of Penelope, sleeveless errand, wild goose chase, mere farce, tautology, supererogation, vanitas vanitatum, vanity, inanity, worthlessness, nugacity, triviality, caput mortuum, waste paper, dead letter, blunt tool, litter, rubbish, junk, lumber, odds and ends, cast-off clothes, button top, shoddy, rags, orts, trash, refuse, sweepings, scourings, offscourings, waste, rubble, debris, detritus, stubble, leavings, broken meat, dregs, weeds, tares, rubbish heap, dust hole, rudera, deads, fruges consumere natus, useless, inutile, inefficacious, futile, unavailing, bootless, inoperative, inadequate, inservient, unsubservient, inept, inefficient, of no avail, ineffectual, incompetent, stale, flat and unprofitable, superfluous, dispensable, thrown away, abortive, worthless, valueless, priceless, unsalable, not worth a straw, dear at any price, vain, empty, inane, gainless, profitless, fruitless, unserviceable, unprofitable, ill-spent, unproductive, hors de combat, effete, past work, obsolete, fit for the dust hole, good for nothing, of no earthly use, not worth having, not worth powder and shot, leading to no end, uncalled for, unnecessary, unneeded, uselessly, to little purpose, to no purpose, to little or no purpose, Int, cui bono?, what's the good!, actum ne agas, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin, tanto buon che val niente.