asinine

English

WOTD – 9 January 2008

Etymology

From Latin asinīnus (“of a donkey or ass”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæs.ɪ.naɪn/, /ˈæs.ə.naɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪn

Adjective

asinine (comparative more asinine, superlative most asinine)

1. very foolish; failing to exercise intelligence or judgment or rationality
   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “2/2/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days‎^[1]:

     They danced on silently, softly. Their feet played tricks to the beat of the tireless measure, that exquisitely asinine blare which is England's punishment for having lost America.

   Synonyms: foolish, obstinate

2. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of donkeys
   • 1881, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, The Ingenious Knight: Don Quixote de la Mancha (page 84)

     Don Quixote had put himself but a little way ayont the village of Don Diego, when he encountered two apparent priests, or students, and two husbandmen, who came mounted on four asinine beasts.

   Synonym: donkeyish

Derived terms

• asininely
• asininity

 

Translations

failing to exercise intelligence or judgment

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 愚蠢 (zh) (yúchǔn)

• Danish: dum (da), torsket, enfoldig
• Dutch: oerdom (nl), achterlijk (nl)
• Finnish: typerä (fi), aasimainen (fi)
• French: asinin (fr) m, stupide (fr) m or f
• German: dumm (de), dümmlich (de), dämlich (de), töricht (de)
• Interlingue:
• Japanese: 愚か (ja) (oroka)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: глуп m (glup)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: toskete, enfoldig (no), stupid (no)

• Polish: debilny m
• Portuguese: asinino
• Russian: глу́пый (ru) (glúpyj), деби́льный (ru) (debílʹnyj), осли́ный (ru) (oslínyj)
• Spanish: estúpido (es)
• Swedish: åsnelik, enfaldig (sv)

of or relating to a donkey

• Bulgarian: магарешки (magareški)
• Dutch: ezelachtig (nl)
• Finnish: aasi- (fi), aasin- (fi), aasimainen (fi)
• French: asinin (fr)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: asinino m
• Latin: asinīnus
• Macedonian: мага́решки m (magáreški)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eselaktig

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: ośli (pl) m
• Portuguese: asinino, asnal (pt)
• Romanian: măgăresc (ro)
• Russian: осли́ный (ru) (oslínyj)
• Spanish: asnal (es), asinino (es)
• Swedish: åsnelik

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.zi.nin/
• Homophone: asinines

Adjective

asinine

1. feminine singular of asinin

---

Italian

Adjective

asinine

1. (deprecated template usage) Feminine plural of adjective asinino.

Anagrams

• insanie

---

Latin

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) asinīne

1. vocative masculine singular of asinīnus