1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
investing in that company now would be foolery
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
let the kids have a little foolery once in a while
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foolery
Lane didn't stop the foolery there, though.
—
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Jan. 2026
The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows.
—New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022
Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful.
—Stanislav Budnitsky, The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2022
Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly all drop by to participate in the Jack-foolery.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2022
Our magpie eyes will always be drawn to foolery and ephemera.
—Giles Hattersley, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2021
Once every ten years, the first of April assumes a far more significant importance than the annual sharing of April foolery.
—James Deutsch, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2020
All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery.
—John Hirschauer, National Review, 17 Sep. 2019
This single photograph simultaneously invokes the histories of racial violence and racial degradation, cruelly dismissing their gravity by casting them in the guise of comedy and youthful foolery.
—Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, 18 July 2019
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Jan. 2026
The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows.
—New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022
Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful.
—Stanislav Budnitsky, The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2022
Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly all drop by to participate in the Jack-foolery.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2022
Our magpie eyes will always be drawn to foolery and ephemera.
—Giles Hattersley, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2021
Once every ten years, the first of April assumes a far more significant importance than the annual sharing of April foolery.
—James Deutsch, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2020
All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery.
—John Hirschauer, National Review, 17 Sep. 2019
This single photograph simultaneously invokes the histories of racial violence and racial degradation, cruelly dismissing their gravity by casting them in the guise of comedy and youthful foolery.
—Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, 18 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foolery
Noun
-
Attached to it is a video of Andrea Yates, the real Texas woman who drowned her five children amid an episode of postpartum psychosis and was found not guilty by reason of insanity, per the New York Times.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
-
To punish her company is an act of insanity.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lindsay says that Jesse was serious about asking, but that the make-out would be a joking make-out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The women’s team declined their joking invitation and had to explain comments directed at them.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.—
Jonny Thomson,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Harry and Finis refused to play Jack Donahoe’s game of commenting on every idiocy that came across their desks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Jazz are 15-35, which puts them at the sixth pick if zero lottery-ball tomfoolery happens.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
But enough of all that tomfoolery, because there is one person on the beach who knows exactly what is about to happen!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
In typical 30 Rock fashion, the bit reaches the height of absurdity when someone informs Arthur that some of the tennis balls are meant to be actual tennis balls in the scene.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Death by Lightning, adapted by Mike Makowsky from Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book and directed by Matt Ross, hums with the strength of these performances, particularly Shannon’s quiet composure and Macfadyen mining new depths of buffoonery.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
North Coast Rep will present a show Dec. 11-Dec. 14 with bubbling energy and comedic buffoonery in the British Pantomime version of The Adventures of Robin Hood as its next student production.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The Chiefs lost safety Bryan Cook to the Bengals in the early madness of the negotiating window Monday.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The two have been good friends ever since and Peterman knows exactly how to help her friend get through the planning and organizational madness that comes with planning a wedding.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Yes, this is the modern clowning that all the thinkpieces are thinking about.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2026
-
With an impressive ability to do accents and a background in clowning, Storrie is made for this.—
Tiffany Kelly,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolery. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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