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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Over the years across Illinois, there has been a litany of agency miscues, blunders and downright neglect, including several in Lake County.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
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The sufferings caused by a statesman’s blunders are larger than the benefits produced by his accomplishments.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Malinin got a bit of redemption for his follies at the Olympics with a third-straight men's individual world title in Prague, and then finally had some fun after weeks of drama following his every move.—
Tyler Erzberger,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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Mostly gone are the staff’s personal foibles and follies, but vanished, too, is the post-COVID-19 despair that hung over the inaugural episodes like an aerosol haze.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Metaphors, absurdities and seriousness intermingle in this production from New Forms LA and directed by Marissa Pattullo.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
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Born to a working-class family in a wealthy part of London in 1929 — his father was a chauffeur and his mother a part-time cook — Deighton grew up with a keen eye for the intricacies and absurdities of Britain’s class system.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 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 1 Apr. 2026.
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