1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
the American purchase of Alaska was originally considered a grand folly
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of folly
Man’s folly of fiascos is a feast for the flies.
—
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2026
Man’s fiasco folly is a feast for the flies.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
The folly of the ancient Roman emperors springs to mind here.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2026
So the Broncos ate $85 million in dead cap money over the ’24 and ’25 seasons for cutting Wilson, the kind of hit that’s supposed to punish a franchise for its free-spending folly.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for folly
Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2026
Man’s fiasco folly is a feast for the flies.
—Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
The folly of the ancient Roman emperors springs to mind here.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2026
So the Broncos ate $85 million in dead cap money over the ’24 and ’25 seasons for cutting Wilson, the kind of hit that’s supposed to punish a franchise for its free-spending folly.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for folly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for folly
Noun
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The assassination attempt failed — and Hinckley was arrested, tried and found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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His acquittal, which led to a public outcry, had an impact on the federal insanity defense — leading to a shift in the burden of proof.—
Katrina Kaufman,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The priests argued that madness was a punishment from the gods and that healing came through repentance, along with sacrifices that helped maintain the temple’s operations.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
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The final round of fixtures on Saturday is going to be madness.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This conception of dance music as channeling an elevated presence of mind in an unbound flow state (or whatever) is both galaxy-brained and complete nonsense.—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
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During the Iraq War, the popular narrative was that our heroic soldiers and marines were going in to liberate the people, free women, and topple a brutal dictator—the same nonsense we are fed now about Iran.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Church went to the Holy Land in search of sublimity; Twain fastened on the absurdities of those determined to find it.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The ever increasing absurdity turned a familiar mind game between exes into a shrewd illustration of heartbreak’s capacity to create wild distortions of reality.—
Paula Mejía,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
Noun
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This was the most straightforward, efficient episode of the season, pleasurable in its simplicity, with only one gimmick (the to-go orders) that barely made a difference to the episode’s outcome.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2026
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That simplicity is an advantage that baseball has over hockey, where everything moves so much faster and the plays don’t happen in discrete chunks.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That men like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are entrusted with businesses of tectonic influence can be difficult to understand, but their cults of personality have been able to survive scrutiny, perhaps because the money itself is too imposing a firewall for their own stupidity to penetrate.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
19 Apr. 2026
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Eric Swalwell, a prominent Democratic House member and a front-runner in the race for California governor, had his political career blown up by allegations of degeneracy and abject stupidity.—
Michelle Cottle,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The idiocy of these people knows no bounds.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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There’s a heartwarming idiocy to their pursuit, yet what festers underneath is their inability to process grief consciously and the fear that those who deem their existence meaningless might be right.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jon Caramanica To stratify the 400-song catalog of Carole King, let alone choose her shiniest song, is an exercise in foolishness.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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This season Fears has shown both the maturity of the player who came back to discuss his actions with his head coach, and the foolishness of the hothead who responded with the hard foul.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Folly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/folly. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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