folly

[fol-ee]

noun

plural

follies 

1. the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.

2. a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity.

   the folly of performing without a rehearsal.

   Synonyms: lunacy, madness, injudiciousness, indiscretion, foolishness, mistake, rashness, imprudence

3. a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure.

4. 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.

5. follies, a theatrical revue.

6. Obsolete.,  wickedness; wantonness.

folly

/ ˈfɒlɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being foolish; stupidity; rashness

2. a foolish action, mistake, idea, etc

3. a building in the form of a castle, temple, etc, built to satisfy a fancy or conceit, often of an eccentric kind

4. (plural) theatre an elaborately costumed revue

5. archaic

   1. evil; wickedness

   2. lewdness; wantonness

Other Word Forms

• superfolly noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of folly¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English folie, from Old French, derivative of fol, fou “foolish, mad”; equivalent to fool ¹ + -y ³ ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of folly¹

C13: from Old French folie madness, from fou mad; see _fool ¹

Example Sentences

“One Battle After Another” is entrenched in the folly that comes with our ultramodern push-and-pull between two extremist modes of thinking.

From Salon

Of course, facts are important, but they don’t necessarily reveal anything; it is the biographer’s folly to ascribe deeper meaning to them, to extrapolate truth from a disparate series of events.

From Los Angeles Times

"It was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over half a million, and it had an ebullient print media that was constantly commentating on the fashions and follies of the age."

From BBC

Frank, who also directed The Queen's Gambit, said: "I'm grateful to the folks at Netflix, as well as our shining cast and crew, for once more risking their careers to enable my folly."

From BBC

The annual act of folly and crystal ball-gazing that brings about my Premier League predictions.

From BBC

Related Words

• absurdity 
• craziness 
• foolishness 
• idiocy 
• indiscretion 
• lunacy 
• madness 
• recklessness www.thesaurus.com
• silliness 
• stupidity 

When To Use

What does folly mean?

A folly is a foolish action. Follies can refer to various unwise practices, buildings with a purely ornamental purpose, or cabaret-style theatrical revues featuring lots of beautiful, dancing women.