bêtises

noun

plural of bêtise
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
  1. insanities
  2. blunders
  3. follies
  4. absurdities
  5. inanities
Noun
  • 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
Definition of insanities
Noun
  • The French centre-back previously had form for unfortunate blunders in high-profile matches but looks to have cut that out of his game.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • There have also been several high-profile officiating blunders this season.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of blunders
Noun
  • According to Sosnick, investors today may be too focused on companies’ rosy short-term guidance and assuming the good times will last — one of the many follies of those who got burned in 2000.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 13 May 2026
  • This might seem like an overreaction, but Gator fans have had to endure these subtle shots all offseason, culminating in the brutal USA Today fluff piece defending Napier's follies in Gainesville.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Definition of follies
Noun
  • Mason has a field day riffing on the absurdities of contemporary academic culture and flagging the divides that separate what are often called coastal elites at the western and eastern edges of the country.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026
  • Like a more crass, animated Seinfeld, Rocko deals with the mundanities and absurdities of daily life.
    — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026
Definition of absurdities
Noun
  • 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
Definition of inanities
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

bêtise
bêtises
be (to)
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Cite this Entry

“Bêtises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAtises. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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