foolishness

noun

fool·​ish·​ness ˈfü-lish-nəs 

1

: foolish behavior

2

: a foolish act or idea

Synonyms

• absurdity
• asininity
• balminess
• brainlessness
• craziness
• daftness
• dippiness
• dottiness
• fatuity
• fatuousness
• folly
• imbecility
• inanity
• insanity
• lunacy
• madness
• nonsensicalness
• nuttiness
• preposterousness
• senselessness
• silliness
• simplicity
• unwisdom
• wackiness
• witlessness
• zaniness

Examples of foolishness in a Sentence

the foolishness of going off to search for the fountain of youth

couldn't listen to another second of their foolishness, so I told them to be quiet

Recent Examples on the Web

For instance, there is only a tiny difference between stubbornness and perseverance or between courage and foolishness. —Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 21 Oct. 2024

Occasionally, nonwhite characters appear to emphasize the depth of white people’s foolishness. —Elena Saavedra Buckley, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024

Many have faulted Cuba’s Stalinist bureaucratic centralization, but few critiques are as replete with concrete examples of foolishness and foul-ups. —Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012

Part of that rebuttal is a near-desperate attempt to paint variety as dangerous and inclusion as foolishness. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1