folly

noun

fol·ly | \ ˈfä-lē

plural follies

Definition of folly

1 : lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight his folly in thinking he could not be caught

2a : 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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about folly

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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 on the Web

Other Broward follies include ballot misprints, posting results before polls closed and more. — James Freeman, WSJ, "Broward County Pension Recount," 5 Dec. 2018 Still, a shaft of light must be descending on Shenzhen, illuminating the folly of putting her in such a position in the first place. — Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, "What to Do About Huawei?," 11 Dec. 2018 Numerous experts have written op-eds explaining the folly of withdrawal. — Susan Peterson, Washington Post, "Experts don’t like Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal — or his foreign policy in general," 16 May 2018 Democrats are in the minority and many are pointing to Reid’s tweet as evidence of the folly of changing the Senate rules. — Mahita Gajanan, Time, "Why Republicans Are Suddenly Thanking Harry Reid for a 2013 Tweet About Filibuster Reform," 28 June 2018 From the ground up, this particular folly starts out as a rather orthodox summer house, only to grow upwards into a massive, 37 feet-high sandstone pineapple. — Max Maeckler, Vogue, "You Can Rent a Pineapple Palace on the Airbnb For Historic Homes," 16 Aug. 2018 Other Broward follies include ballot misprints, posting results before polls closed and more. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "A Broward County Senate Steal?," 9 Nov. 2018 Robert Patrick was brought in as Agent Doggett, providing a skeptical folly to Scully's now-believing self. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "We Want You to Believe: 15 Episodes to Get Started With 'The X-Files'," 12 June 2015 The folly of counting Xavier out for those reasons should be plain. — Chris Johnson, SI.com, "Villanova Shows It's Still King of the Big East—and a Legitimate National Title Threat," 11 Mar. 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.