WORD OF THE DAY: Fatuous
[FA-tchoo-əs/]
Part of speech: Adjective
Origin: Latin, early 17th century
Definitions: Silly and pointless; Lacking intelligence
Examples of Fatuous in a sentence
“He thought the decorative pillows were fatuous, but they made his mom happy.”
“The teacher got frustrated by the fatuous questions that showed the students hadn’t been paying attention.”
About Fatuous
The word fatuous is a clever adjective used to describe someone lacking in intelligence, or something that is just plain pointless. You might use fatuous with a tone of condescension or irritation. Be careful — just because you know the meaning of fatuous doesn’t mean it’s always a nice word to use.
Did you Know?
The “fat” in this adjective is misleading — fatuous has nothing to do with your weight. Instead the origin can be traced back to the Latin word “fatuus,” meaning foolish. You might recognize this root in the word infatuation — a silly, foolish crush.
