feather-brained
Definition
- Adjective:
- Frivolous or lacking seriousness: "feather-brained" describes a person who is silly, shallow, or incapable of serious thought. It implies a mind as light and insubstantial as a feather.
- Foolish or scatterbrained: "feather-brained" also means being extremely foolish or forgetful, often due to a lack of intellectual depth.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- That feather-brained idea will never work; it's far too impractical. (The idea is silly and lacks thought.)
- She is so feather-brained that she forgot her own appointment. (She is forgetful and scatterbrained.)
- He made a feather-brained comment during the meeting, embarrassing everyone. (He said something foolish.)
Advanced Usage
"feather-brained scheme": a plan that is absurd or poorly thought out.
- The investors rejected the feather-brained scheme to build a hotel on the moon. (The plan was considered foolish and unrealistic.)
"feather-brained chatter": idle or meaningless conversation.
- The party was filled with feather-brained chatter about celebrities and gossip. (The talk was shallow and trivial.)
Variants and Related Words
- Featherbrain (noun): a person who is silly or foolish.
- Don't listen to him; he's a complete featherbrain. (He is a foolish person.)
- Featherheaded (adj): having a light or empty head; frivolous. (Synonym of feather-brained.)
- Her featherheaded decision cost the company a lot of money. (Her frivolous decision was costly.)
Synonyms
- Scatterbrained: unable to concentrate or think clearly.
- Frivolous: not having any serious purpose or value.
- Silly: showing a lack of good sense or judgment.
- Fatuous: silly and pointless.
Related Idioms
- Light in the head: lacking seriousness or intelligence.
- He's a bit light in the head, always joking during serious discussions. (He is frivolous.)
- Empty-headed: lacking intelligence or common sense.
- The movie star was portrayed as empty-headed in the film. (She was shown as foolish.)