folly

noun fol·ly \ ˈfä-lē \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of folly

plural follies

1 : lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight

his folly in thinking he could not be caught

2 a : criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct

b obsolete : evil, wickedness; especially : lewd behavior

3 : a foolish act or idea

The prank was a youthful folly.

4 : an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking

Paying so much for that land was folly, since it was all rocks and scrub trees.

5 : an often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste

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Examples of folly in a Sentence

the folly of driving fast on steep, winding roads
his folly in thinking that he would not be noticed
The folly of such an action should be apparent to everyone.
the follies of the modern world
the famous Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920s

Recent Examples of folly from the Web

First quarter follies Among other curiosities, James tried his first shot with 1:52 left and the Cavs down 15 points.

— bill livingston, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers look bad dropping opener to Indiana Pacers: Bill Livingston," 15 Apr. 2018
The Astros, once down 8-1, tied the game in the ninth inning on the Twins’ folly.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros' comeback falls short in loss to Twins," 11 Apr. 2018
Peak Fox was on open display during the Bears quarterback follies of October 2016, when Brian Hoyer was playing behind center while Jay Cutler recovered from a thumb injury.

— phil rosenthal, chicagotribune.com, "Why in the world would ESPN hire cranky ex-Bears coach John Fox?," 21 Mar. 2018
Caldwell's other personnel folly was not using Calvin Johnson as a deep safety to knock the ball down, and the Lions also didn't have a defensive back positioned in front of the Packers' wide receivers in the end zone.

— chris thomas, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions fire Jim Caldwell: A timeline of his tenure," 1 Jan. 2018
If anything, there has never been a better time to satirize the hubris and folly that pervades the world of tech.

— rachel syme, The New Republic, "Silicon Valley Strikes Out Into New Territory," 30 Mar. 2018
These aren’t just futuristic follies intended to look good on press releases.

— claire zillman / dubai, Time, "Dubai Decrees Itself the A.I. City-State of the Future," 12 Mar. 2018
The two headed up a hapless Minnesota college football team whose follies were on the air from 1989 to 1997.

— Washington Post, "Jerry Van Dyke, comic actor in TV’s ‘Coach’ and ‘My Mother the Car,’ dies at 86," 6 Mar. 2018
To outsiders, the idea of a swarm of cargo spheres taking on Google or Uber or even the robot-delivery start-ups might seem like folly.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "The Cute Robot That Follows You Around the City," 28 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'folly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of folly

Middle English folie, from Anglo-French, from fol fool

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First Known Use: 13th century

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folly Synonyms

FOLLY Defined for English Language Learners

folly

noun

Definition of folly for English Language Learners

: the lack of good sense or judgment
: a foolish act or idea : foolish behavior
: a very unusual or fancy building that was built in a garden for decoration or amusement in the past