as in blunder
a foolish act or idea
writing a sequel to a Jane Austen novel must be regarded as a literary bêtise of the highest order
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bêtise
Noun
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Potential adversaries interpret political action in zero-sum terms; see malice and evil design in mere blunders and coincidence; trumpet necessity rather than navigate choice; and, in extreme cases, invent pretext or promise profit to make more palatable a dubious cause.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025 -
In the aftermath of the expensive blunder, Schwarzman was quickly pulled aside by an investor.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Ellis has a history of schizophrenia, and her defense attorneys had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury ultimately rejected that claim, per the Cleveland Plain Dealer.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Maybe Clark can dust off Scrooge comparisons if this insanity lasts until Christmas.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Advertisement Aster keenly satirizes Joe’s idiocy in the face of social upheaval through the iconography of Westerns.—
Robert Daniels,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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Alps is really about the absurdity of acting in general, and perhaps the specific psychological burden of the Method in particular.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
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The costumes point out the absurdity of bringing National Guard troops into cities, Faith Gill said.—
Darcie Moran,
Freep.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Jim Cramer has long believed that taking only a top-down view on picking stocks can be sheer folly.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
22 Oct. 2025
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Kleinschmidt’s sessions, with their assistance in permitting him to air these childhood traumas and the interplay of insight and folly in Freudianism, was the stew out of which emerged the novel that made Roth a household name.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To then try and justify it by saying nobody should have a bigger deal than Cole is doubling down on their stupidity.—
Drew VonScio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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The Snack Homiez’ back-and-forth, soothing in its stupidity, reminded me of this Kate McKinnon-Aidy Bryant two-hander from 2021.—
Charu Sinha,
Vulture,
19 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bêtise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAtise. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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