What does fatuity mean?
Fatuity is a formal noun denoting extreme foolishness or stupidity, particularly of the self-satisfied variety. What sets it apart from plain 'stupidity' is its implication of complacency: a display of fatuity typically involves someone acting or speaking absurdly while entirely convinced of their own good sense. The word can refer to the quality of mind itself ('the sheer fatuity of the plan') or, in the plural, to individual instances of it ('the fatuities of fashionable opinion'). Derived from the Latin 'fatuus', meaning foolish — the same root behind 'fatuous' and 'infatuated' — it entered English in the early seventeenth century and has retained a bookish, slightly contemptuous character ever since. It is uncommon in casual conversation but valuable in criticism and argument, where a single word can convey both the folly of an idea and the smugness of the person advancing it. Writers reach for it when ordinary terms like 'nonsense' feel too mild for confident, unselfconscious absurdity.
nounFatuity is utter foolishness or stupidity, especially when the person concerned is smugly unaware of it. It can also denote a foolish act, remark, or idea.
- Stupidity or foolishness, especially of a self-satisfied kind.
- A foolish act, remark, or notion; an instance of absurdity.
"The minister's speech was a masterpiece of complacent fatuity."
"The committee's decision revealed a breathtaking fatuity."
"He listened wearily to the fatuities being exchanged across the dinner table."
The plural usually refers to countable instances of foolishness — remarks, decisions, or ideas — rather than the abstract quality.
"The interview was littered with small fatuities that the press gleefully quoted."
Fatuity comes from the Latin 'fatuus', meaning foolish — the very root that gives us 'infatuated', literally 'made foolish' by love.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fatuity
Fatuity derives from the Latin 'fatuitas', meaning foolishness, formed from the adjective 'fatuus', which described a person as silly, witless, or simple-minded. English adopted the word in the early seventeenth century, alongside its sibling 'fatuous'. The same Latin root produced 'infatuare', 'to make foolish', which gives English 'infatuate' and 'infatuation' — originally suggesting the bewilderment of someone besotted.
Related word forms
How fatuity is actually used
Fatuity is a formal, literary word carrying a dismissive, often scornful tone; it frequently implies not just silliness but unearned self-confidence. The plural 'fatuities' refers to individual foolish remarks or acts. It is rare in everyday speech and belongs mainly to critical or polemical writing.
Easily confused with fatuity
Fatigue means extreme tiredness, while fatuity means foolishness — the two look vaguely similar in spelling but share no meaning.