foolish
Americanadjective
-
resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill-considered: unwise.
a foolish action;
a foolish speech.
- Synonyms:
- thoughtless, imprudent, preposterous, nonsensical, absurd, ridiculous, unintelligent, senseless, brainless, witless, stupid
-
lacking forethought or caution.
- Synonyms:
- thoughtless, imprudent, incautious, heedless, half-baked, foolhardy, reckless, rash, impetuous
-
trifling, insignificant, or paltry.
adjective
-
unwise; silly
-
resulting from folly or stupidity
-
ridiculous or absurd; not worthy of consideration
-
weak-minded; simple
-
an archaic word for insignificant
Usage
What are other ways to say foolish? A foolish action is one that shows a lack of sense or is ill-considered. How is foolish different from fatuous, silly, inane, stupid, and asinine? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- foolishly adverb
- foolishness noun
- overfoolish adjective
- overfoolishly adverb
- quasi-foolish adjective
- quasi-foolishly adverb
- unfoolish adjective
- unfoolishly adverb
Etymology
Origin of foolish
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English folish, foolish; fool 1, -ish 1
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.
Gates addressed his relationship to Epstein in an interview with Australia’s 9News, calling the allegations in the email “false” and calling himself “foolish” for associating with Epstein.
From Salon
That said, Chappell thinks it’s just as foolish to short the stocks.
From Barron's
“A foolish game,” I said, “that we just finished with.”
From Literature
Ma enjoyed the singing but clearly felt foolish in her feeble miming.
From Literature
"We hugged and we said to each other: 'we're going to be wise, don't do anything foolish.'"
From Barron's
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.
