folly

folly

noun

Definition of FOLLY

1

a foolish act or idea <the American purchase of Alaska was originally considered a grand folly>

Synonyms absurdity, asininity, bêtise, fatuity, foolery, foppery, idiocy, imbecility, inanity, insanity, lunacy, stupidity

Related Words absurdness, craziness, foolishness, inaneness, madness, senselessness, witlessness; buffoonery, monkeyshine(s), shenanigan(s), tomfoolery; drivel, humbug, nonsense, twaddle; blunder, bungle, flub, goof, howler

Near Antonyms discretion, forethought, prudence, sagacity, wisdom; brainstorm, inspiration

2

lack of good sense or judgment <in all my folly, I didn't think about how my actions would hurt my father>

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

Related Words denseness, dim-wittedness, doltishness, dopiness, dullness (also dulness), dumbness, feeblemindedness, gormlessness [chiefly British], idiocy, mindlessness, oafishness, obtuseness, simplemindedness, simpleness, slowness, stupidity, stupidness, vacuity; fallacy, irrationality, unreasonableness; kookiness, weirdness; laughableness, ludicrousness, ridiculousness

Near Antonyms logicality, logicalness, rationality, rationalness, reasonability, reasonableness, validity; discernment, insight, perception, percipience

Antonyms prudence, sagaciousness, sagacity, sageness, sanity, sapience, sensibleness, soundness, wisdom

3

language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense <enough of this folly about moving to the Australian outback>

Synonyms applesauce [slang], balderdash, baloney (also boloney), beans, bilge, blah (also blah-blah), blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull [slang], bunk, bunkum (or buncombe), claptrap, codswallop [British], crapola [slang], crock, drivel, drool, fiddle, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel [British], flapdoodle, folderol (also falderal), folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers [slang], humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey (also malarky), moonshine, muck, nerts [slang], nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle (or tarradiddle), tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle

Related Words absurdity, asininity, fatuity, foolery, idiocy, imbecility, inaneness, inanity, insanity, kookiness, lunacy; absurdness, craziness, madness, senselessness, witlessness; hoity-toity, monkey business, monkeyshine(s), shenanigan(s), tomfoolery; gas, hot air, rigmarole (also rigamarole); double-talk, greek, hocus-pocus

Near Antonyms levelheadedness, rationality, reasonability, reasonableness, sensibleness; common sense, horse sense, sense; discernment, judgment (or judgement), wisdom