foolishness
Americannoun
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lack of wisdom or good judgment; foolish quality.
Oh, the foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness!
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foolish talk, ideas, or behavior.
How could someone with such a clever mind as yourself talk such foolishness?
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a foolish act, error, habit, etc..
Shakespeare, who looks at all men as if from Mount Olympus, notes their foibles and foolishnesses, and yet smiles on them all.
Other Word Forms
- overfoolishness noun
- unfoolishness noun
Etymology
Origin of foolishness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Was it a calculated risk or stubborn foolishness?
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026
Mr. Clooney has never had a better role, and he burrows deeply into it with a self-interrogating combination of narcissism, foolishness, bravado and charisma.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
It’s difficult not to dwell on just how clownish our current reality has become while witnessing the absolute foolishness of this spectacle.
From Salon • Sep. 28, 2025
It's that time of the year again - the annual act of foolishness in which I try to predict the outcome of the 2024-25 season for all 20 Premier League clubs.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2024
I shook my head at my own foolishness.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
