as in fopperies
a foolish act or idea
writing a sequel to a Jane Austen novel must be regarded as a literary bêtise of the highest order
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bêtises
Noun
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Working with Chhaya clients who were facing foreclosure, Mamdani got an intimate look at the little insanities of the city’s housing crisis.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Overall, those who laughed at their own minor blunders were judged more positively than those who appeared visibly embarrassed.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
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Sadly, Israel will eventually not be as lucky as Magoo, who always manages to walk away from his blunders unscathed.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Netflix's Bridgerton is a Regency-era series about the romantic follies of the noble Bridgerton family.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Feb. 2026
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Without these changes, Californians are probably headed for more fiscal follies in the years ahead.—
Lanhee J. Chen,
Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The latest addition to the genre, AMC’s The Audacity, captures all the absurdities, egos, and jargon of the tech scene as deftly as its predecessors.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
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This lack of scientific alignment leads to absurdities.—
Rino Ferrarese,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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For the past four years, Honan has been a worm in Adams’s apple, scoring scoop after scoop about the dramas, inanities, and intrigues of his administration.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
21 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bêtises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAtises. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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