foolishness
Americannoun
-
lack of wisdom or good judgment; foolish quality.
Oh, the foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness!
-
foolish talk, ideas, or behavior.
How could someone with such a clever mind as yourself talk such foolishness?
-
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
Diomande's act of foolishness just put the tin hat on it.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
“Under Paris” fares far better, turning the foolishness dial up so far it breaks.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2025
The Lakers were, again, the Lakers — the version from early this season that made optimism seem nothing like foolishness.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
The captain with his single bloodshot eye; the parrot, his head bobbing in anticipation of whatever nonsense I would add to this foolishness.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
