Synonyms of folly

folly

noun

ˈfä-lē 

1

as in insanity

a foolish act or idea

the American purchase of Alaska was originally considered a grand folly

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insanity
• idiocy
• absurdity
• stupidity
• madness
• imbecility
• foppery
• foolery
• inanity
• bêtise
• lunacy
• fatuity
• asininity
• blunder
• foolishness
• craziness
• buffoonery
• tomfoolery
• absurdness
• nonsense
• witlessness
• twaddle
• senselessness
• monkeyshine(s)
• drivel
• inaneness
• shenanigan(s)
• bungle
• flub
• goof
• humbug
• howler

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wisdom
• discretion
• prudence
• sagacity
• forethought
• inspiration
• brainstorm

2

as in madness

lack of good sense or judgment

in all my folly, I didn't think about how my actions would hurt my father

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insanity
• madness
• simplicity
• absurdity
• foolishness
• unwisdom
• fatuousness
• imbecility
• craziness
• preposterousness
• daftness
• inanity
• dottiness
• wackiness
• silliness
• lunacy
• fatuity
• nuttiness
• zaniness
• witlessness
• senselessness
• stupidity
• asininity
• stupidness
• brainlessness
• balminess
• nonsensicalness
• idiocy
• obtuseness
• dumbness
• unreasonableness
• simplemindedness
• slowness
• dippiness
• irrationality
• dullness
• simpleness
• feeblemindedness
• mindlessness
• fallacy
• oafishness
• ridiculousness
• dopiness
• denseness
• doltishness
• vacuity
• ludicrousness
• weirdness
• kookiness
• gormlessness
• laughableness
• dim-wittedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wisdom
• prudence
• sagacity
• sanity
• soundness
• reasonableness
• sapience
• validity
• rationality
• sensibleness
• insight
• perception
• reasonability
• logicality
• sagaciousness
• discernment
• sageness
• logicalness
• rationalness
• percipience

3

as in nonsense

language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense

enough of this folly about moving to the Australian outback

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nonsense
• stupidity
• silliness
• nuts
• garbage
• rubbish
• foolishness
• blah
• absurdity
• drool
• insanity
• absurdness
• craziness
• bunk
• muck
• madness
• jazz
• trumpery
• twaddle
• rot
• humbuggery
• claptrap
• trash
• tosh
• balderdash
• bunkum
• hogwash
• piffle
• tommyrot
• beans
• folderol
• hokum
• punk
• baloney
• blither
• guff
• poppycock
• bull
• crock
• flapdoodle
• blatherskite
• bosh
• bilge
• fiddle
• hooey
• drivel
• fudge
• blather
• senselessness
• malarkey
• fiddlesticks
• blarney
• codswallop
• humbug
• hokeypokey
• idiocy
• horsefeathers
• fiddle-faddle
• crapola
• nerts
• applesauce
• taradiddle
• hoodoo
• moonshine
• imbecility
• foolery
• flannel
• inanity
• slush
• tomfoolery
• lunacy
• fatuity
• kookiness
• asininity
• witlessness
• greek
• monkey business
• gas
• rigmarole
• inaneness
• hot air
• hocus-pocus
• monkeyshine(s)
• double-talk
• shenanigan(s)
• hoity-toity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reasonableness
• rationality
• sense
• common sense
• sensibleness
• judgment
• wisdom
• reasonability
• horse sense
• levelheadedness
• discernment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of folly

The broader opportunity costs of the United States’ Middle Eastern follies are even more insidious. — Emma Ashford, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2026

Modi’s shock demonetization in India in 2016, which wiped out 86% of India’s currency overnight, was pure Big Player folly. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 27 July 2026

The Bloomsbury Group, the 20th-century group of writers and painters renowned for rejecting strict Victorian conventions, is prime example of this; their home, a haven of mismatched color, prints, and folly tucked into every room. — Alex Eagle, Vogue, 26 July 2026

The wall is a folly, in both the architectural and regular sense of the word. — Matt Seaton, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026