Synonyms of foolishness

foolishness

noun

ˈfü-lish-nəs 

1

as in insanity

lack of good sense or judgment

the foolishness of going off to search for the fountain of youth

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in nonsense

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

couldn't listen to another second of their foolishness, so I told them to be quiet

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

3

as in stupidness

the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind

you didn't fail the test because of any innate foolishness but because of a lack of preparation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stupidness
• stupidity
• thickness
• dulness
• obtuseness
• slowness
• dullness
• mindlessness
• insanity
• boneheadedness
• dumbness
• oafishness
• witlessness
• density
• dorkiness
• dopiness
• denseness
• doltishness
• brainlessness
• senselessness
• fatuity
• simpleness
• weak-mindedness
• simplicity
• gormlessness
• idiocy
• madness
• vacuity
• absurdity
• craziness
• simplemindedness
• feeblemindedness
• dim-wittedness
• fatuousness
• irrationality
• daftness
• silliness
• folly
• unreasonableness
• wackiness
• inanity
• preposterousness
• zaniness
• lunacy
• nuttiness
• dottiness
• fallacy
• inaneness
• asininity
• nincompoopery
• nonsensicalness
• dippiness
• balminess
• mental retardation
• mental deficiency

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• intelligence
• brilliance
• cleverness
• brightness
• smartness
• judgment
• quickness
• judgement
• insight
• perception
• keenness
• discernment
• acumen
• astuteness
• sharpness
• perspicacity
• wisdom
• alertness
• sagacity
• wit
• braininess
• quick-wittedness
• rationality
• validity
• reasonableness
• percipience
• soundness
• sapience
• sageness
• logicality
• logicalness
• rationalness

Examples of foolishness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film’s loose interpretation of historical events treads perilously close to disrespect at times, if not plain foolishness. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 12 July 2024

However, several people seized an opportunity for foolishness, forcing organizers to shut down the video feeds and search for solutions. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 19 May 2024

In the 1990s, liberals all but ceded talk radio to conservatives, an act of foolishness, given the platform is crucial to connecting with a car-loving population. —Jeff Bloodworth, Washington Post, 26 June 2024

Whoopi Goldberg asks if schools will display the Quran after 'foolishness' of Louisiana’s 10 Commandments law Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 25 June 2024