1
as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
investing in that company now would be foolery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of foolery
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
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
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
The conceit allowed for some fancy dancing, along with a display of the talents of the musical director, Gregory Boover, who also portrayed Feste as a jazz musician, giving weight to his character’s foolery.
—Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 11 July 2019
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2022
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
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
The conceit allowed for some fancy dancing, along with a display of the talents of the musical director, Gregory Boover, who also portrayed Feste as a jazz musician, giving weight to his character’s foolery.
—Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 11 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foolery
Noun
-
Defense had planned to argue insanity Purdy’s trial had been scheduled to take place in July.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 June 2025
-
The trial was initially scheduled to begin three months ago but was delayed after Abril changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
25 June 2025
Noun
-
Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
-
Would that all life could be filled with such tomfoolery.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Mika Rottenberg’s work explores the pure absurdities of our current world.—
Nargess Banks,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
-
These over-the-top moments and the absurdity of its title may be the elements that made Zombi 2 famous, but beneath them is a movie with an eerie, uncanny vibe that's shockingly easy to get lost in.—
James Grebey,
Time,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
The other person who spoke in South Carolina, Tim Walz, is a special mixture of extreme buffoonery and a mean spirit, which is a toxic brew.—
Jenny Goldsberry,
The Washington Examiner,
1 June 2025
-
Certainly hope none of you will be complicit in this buffoonery.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
Eight is a cursed number, and this is the eighth day of madness.—
Fatemeh Shams
June 30,
Literary Hub,
30 June 2025
-
Lee’s sensitive, evolving turn as Gi-hun — deeply human amid the madness, paranoia and murder set in bright green and pink surroundings — has made the character the ideal litmus test for Hwang’s critique of an economic system designed to produce titanic winners and losers who face annihilation.—
Michael Ordoña,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
-
The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
-
True to the Housefull world, Housefull 5 is a no-brainer, full of slapstick comedy, vulgar and suggestive dialogues and mostly unfunny jokes.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
-
The Three Stooges, who made the seltzer bottle a signature of their madcap slapstick brand of comedy, grew up in a Jewish household.—
Liza Weisstuch,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolery. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share