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folie

American  
[faw-lee] / fɔˈli /

noun

French.
folies plural
  1. madness; insanity.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of folie

First recorded in 1795–1805

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.

See Examples For:

Still, Big and Little Edie are not so far gone in their folie à deux that they are unaware of the Maysles brothers’ presence, and they even interact with the filmmakers at times.

From New York Times Sep. 30, 2022

In psychiatry there is a condition known as folie à deux, which describes how two people share a psychosis.

From Salon Jun. 21, 2019

A folie à deux is a forgivable response to the rigors of middle school.

From The New Yorker Feb. 8, 2019

Some have suggested their relationship was a classic folie a deux, a shared psychosis in which a delusional belief is transferred from one person to another.

From BBC May 16, 2017

He discovered a peculiar kind of scarlet dyestuff, and he expended so much money on his establishment that it was named by the common people la folie Gobelin.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various

People might fall down political rabbit holes, taken in by superficially convincing bullshit, or obsessed by folies à deux relationships with machine personalities that don’t really exist.

From Slate Apr. 21, 2023

For Sinclair, the grandest of these folies de grandeur, the whitest of these white elephants, is the 2012 Olympics site, whose construction has been under way in east London for four years now.

From The Guardian Jul. 15, 2011

On ne fait pas de ces folies la!" says he, offering me snuff, "and your grandfather was a man of esprit!

From The Virginians by Thackeray, William Makepeace

His father was a small vinegrower and cultivator, who had been rather disgusted by the fugues of his eldest son, but who was now resigned to the latter's étranges folies.

From The Way of Ambition by Soper, J. H. Gardner

On a fait des folies pour moi, and here I am, a poor rheumatic creature, with a false front and a bad temper. 

From Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories by Wilde, Oscar

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