1
as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment
the foolishness of going off to search for the fountain of youth
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foolishness
The Adams case is not the only one that will bring the foolishness of this directive into sharp relief.
—
Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 15 Feb. 2025
Making any judgements about the actual validity of their complaints is the height of foolishness right now, with so much legal process runway still ahead.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Fonseca got tough and the line between bravery and foolishness, at times, became imperceptible.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
The problem is not the companies but the system, whose foolishness is very clear to those, like me, who have spent decades abroad.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for foolishness
Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 15 Feb. 2025
Making any judgements about the actual validity of their complaints is the height of foolishness right now, with so much legal process runway still ahead.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Fonseca got tough and the line between bravery and foolishness, at times, became imperceptible.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
The problem is not the companies but the system, whose foolishness is very clear to those, like me, who have spent decades abroad.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for foolishness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foolishness
Noun
-
Kraepelin hoped that schizophrenia would eventually reveal itself to be a disease like neurosyphilis, which was then responsible for a large portion of the cases of insanity in psychiatry wards.—
Rachel Aviv,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
-
Way was nothing short of a force of nature in the role, bringing a mix of mania, terror and insanity to a character that felt straight out of the comic books he’s written.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
21 July 2025
Noun
-
Sarah mumbles some nonsense and changes the subject.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
28 July 2025
-
That’s the kind of unsupported nonsense Floridians should reject, without solid evidence to back it up.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
Mid-season madness has officially started for the Colorado Rapids, less than a week before the MLS secondary transfer window opens.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
19 July 2025
-
Will the young girl in Horas Extras succumb to total madness?—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
17 July 2025
Noun
-
Some things are too important to leave behind — like, for instance, the notion that stupidity can be a beautiful force for good, and not just an infinite fuel supply for evil.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
30 July 2025
-
In the end, Haslam’s emphasis on American stupidity is as convincing as his absolute strictures against a moral foreign policy, which in any event isn’t delegitimized by the errors of the likes of Biden and McFaul.—
Samuel Moyn,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
The pulses appear to exert varying pressure that pushes on each rift zone differently, depending on the way the rift moves and the thickness of the crust on either side.—
Nora Bradford,
Scientific American,
7 July 2025
-
If these specs are accurate, the unfolded thickness of the device is only slightly thinner (by 0.01 inches) than the previous model, while the new phone will actually be slightly heavier than its predecessor (by 0.03 ounces).—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
In uncertain markets, relevance, simplicity and clear value win.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
It’s based on the same system used in Chromebooks and focuses on speed, simplicity, and security.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
24 July 2025
Noun
-
Beneath the absurdity and punchlines lies a serious critique of how violence is packaged, sold, and consumed in American media.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 July 2025
-
During the performance that shot her to fame earlier this month, Fan laid bare the absurdity facing many victims of domestic violence in the country.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Noun
-
Use it to find and retrieve stray nuts or bolts in any crevice.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Without that pollination, almond trees produce only 200 pounds of nuts per acre.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foolishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolishness. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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