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foolishness

/ˈfulɪʃnɪs/
/ˈfulɪʃnɛs/
IPA guide

Other forms: foolishnesses

Foolishness is nonsense or stupidity; it's acting in a way that is silly or irrational. Throwing a temper tantrum because the lunch line is moving slowly is pure foolishness — your outburst won't make the line move any faster.

When your actions show a lack of good sense or solid judgement, you're betraying your foolishness. Impulsively jumping off the garage roof into a pile of leaves is evidence of your foolishness. We can trace this word's origin back to fool and the Old French fol, "idiot," and also "blacksmith's bellows," from a root meaning "blow or swell."

Definitions of foolishness
  1. noun
    the quality of being rash and foolish
    “adjusting to an insane society is total foolishness
    synonyms: craziness, folly, madness
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    type of:
    stupidity
    a poor ability to understand or to profit from experience
  2. noun
    the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
    synonyms: folly, unwiseness
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    types:
    indiscretion, injudiciousness
    the trait of being injudicious
    asininity
    the quality of being asinine; stupidity combined with stubbornness
    type of:
    trait
    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
  3. noun
    a stupid mistake
    see moresee less
    type of:
    error, fault, mistake
    a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
Pronunciation
US
/ˈfulɪʃnɪs/
UK
/ˈfulɪʃnɛs/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘foolishness'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of gold-punch.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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