as in insanity
a foolish act or idea
trying to get that many people to agree on anything was pure idiocy
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Recent Examples of idiocy
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
Gunther and Tig are two billionaire failsons who have wasted countless opportunities and cash chasing the stupidest ideas and who get rewarded over and over again for their idiocy.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
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, 27 Jan. 2026
Advertisement Aster keenly satirizes Joe’s idiocy in the face of social upheaval through the iconography of Westerns.
—Robert Daniels, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
But my naivete and idiocy about what this was going to take was staggering to me just six months later.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2025
Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
Gunther and Tig are two billionaire failsons who have wasted countless opportunities and cash chasing the stupidest ideas and who get rewarded over and over again for their idiocy.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
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, 27 Jan. 2026
Advertisement Aster keenly satirizes Joe’s idiocy in the face of social upheaval through the iconography of Westerns.
—Robert Daniels, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
But my naivete and idiocy about what this was going to take was staggering to me just six months later.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idiocy
Noun
-
Iran’s nuclear insanity leaves America and allies no room to blink.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
That still leaves the sanity phase of his trial, which will determine whether Fahim — who previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity — faces up to life in prison without parole or being sent to a state hospital for treatment.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The movie’s antic humor evokes the international Fluxus movement of the nineteen-sixties and seventies, which made political arguments through outrageous absurdity.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
There might be a small touch of some discomfort or dissonance or awkwardness or absurdity or something.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
If not for the stupidity of Joe Biden and the Democrats, ICE would have an easier job.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Smart, skilled, hardworking people gracefully put up with all manner of tragedy, stupidity, and institutional rot.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idiocy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idiocy. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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