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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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
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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Our Rox are a walking bundle of baseball insanity, Looney Tunes from the top down.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But when real users interact with it, the system collapses, generating nonsense or failing to handle inputs that deviate from the demo script.—
Albert Lie,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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Slapping down Putin should mean something, but that pronouncement, like everything Trump utters, is undercut by him spouting nonsense, including about a third term, which his press secretary laughed off yesterday.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Broadway’s spring madness is underway with shows opening on an almost nightly basis until the Tony deadline and the official end of the 2024-2025 season in a couple of weeks.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
6 Apr. 2025
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The film satirizes the star-making machinery of Hollywood, with Harlow playing a popular actress attempting to find romance amid the madness of the industry that surrounds her.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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These deaths come on the heels of the equally bizarre and jarring death of Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) which brings us to four adult survivors dead, though Adult Travis died offscreen (sparking a really fascinating mystery that ended in sheer stupidity and disappointment).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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Also helpful is the show’s other winning quality: an enthusiastic embrace of its own stupidity.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
While some can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and concerns, many are created with specific consumers and their needs in mind.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Allure,
5 Apr. 2025
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That latter measurement also happens to be the average thickness of an AIO radiator (28mm) plus two layers of fans (51mm)...hmm!—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The ambiguity, the exaltation and sarcastic self-parody, the gloom alternating with a yearning for simplicity and even for redemption—all of that reflected the split consciousness of Jews who could never belong and turned revenge upon themselves.—
David Denby,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2025
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Its simplicity notwithstanding, sudoku’s popularity far outpaces that of similar logic puzzles, such as KenKen.—
Elie Levine,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Sure, The Critic had its fair sure of absurdity (one character was from Easter Island and bore a striking resemblance to a moai statue), but the New York in which it was set felt real in a way that Springfield or Quahog never did.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Mar. 2025
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Featuring intertwining narratives of doctors and patients, the film also includes a group of doctors-turned-comedians who use humor to highlight the absurdities of the system.—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The property also grows its own herbs, greens, nuts, berries, and edible flowers.—
Bianca Salonga,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
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Focus on whole foods like fruits, leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
5 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foolishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolishness. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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