folly
the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.
a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity: the folly of performing without a rehearsal.
a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure.
Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc.: found especially in England in the 18th century.
follies, a theatrical revue.
Obsolete. wickedness; wantonness.
Origin of folly
1Other words for folly
Other words from folly
- su·per·fol·ly, noun, plural su·per·fol·lies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use folly in a sentence
To the untrained eye, they look like normal scars; products of the typical follies of youth.
Miles Teller’s Movie Star Moment: From the Brink of Death to ‘Whiplash’ | Marlow Stern | October 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWell, it started with Titicut Follies [about a mental health institution for criminals] which came out in 1967.
Legendary Documentarian Frederick Wiseman Shows Us How Berkeley Works | Nico Hines | November 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSaid more directly, taxpayers stand to remain of the hook for future financial follies.
Jack Lew and the Obama Administration’s Finance-Friendly Status Quo | Lloyd Green | February 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHate is such a strong word, but Alan Jacobs nails it with this rant about the follies of group productivity.
No stranger to the follies of the criminal-justice system, Mitnick believes the feds are after the wrong guys.
Whatever my follies may have been as a young man, I am at least incapable of wronging my wife as a married one.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodMy serious turn and studious habits have preserved me alike from the follies of dissipation and from the bustle of intrigue.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. AbbottThe follies of youth have a basis in sound reason, just as much as the embarrassing questions put by babes and sucklings.
The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis StevensonOf course, he told Violet none of the follies which had cost poor Kennedy the loss both of popularity and self-respect.
Julian Home | Dean Frederic W. FarrarHe was even represented swung up in a basket in his own thinking-shop and giving utterance to innumerable heresies and follies.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian Sharman
British Dictionary definitions for folly
/ (ˈfɒlɪ) /
the state or quality of being foolish; stupidity; rashness
a foolish action, mistake, idea, etc
a building in the form of a castle, temple, etc, built to satisfy a fancy or conceit, often of an eccentric kind
(plural) theatre an elaborately costumed revue
archaic
evil; wickedness
lewdness; wantonness
Origin of folly
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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