foolish

[foo-lish]

adjective

1. 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

2. lacking forethought or caution.

   Synonyms: thoughtless, imprudent, incautious, heedless, half-baked, foolhardy, reckless, rash, impetuous

3. trifling, insignificant, or paltry.

   Synonyms: picayune, trivial

foolish

/ ˈfuːlɪʃ /

adjective

1. unwise; silly

2. resulting from folly or stupidity

3. ridiculous or absurd; not worthy of consideration

4. weak-minded; simple

5. an archaic word for insignificant

Other Word Forms

• foolishly adverb
• foolishness noun
• overfoolish adjective
• overfoolishly adverb
• quasi-foolish adjective
• quasi-foolishly adverb
• unfoolish adjective
• unfoolishly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of foolish¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English folish, foolish; fool ¹, -ish ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see penny wise and pound foolish.

Example Sentences

Expecting a definitive answer may have been a foolish expectation to have for “Alice in Borderland,” a series that revels in the in-between.

From Salon

Still, some folks on X are calling the Mariners fan “stupid” and “foolish” for giving away a ball that could be worth a fortune.

From Los Angeles Times

"The only response," wrote far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, is "the removal of the foolish idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda forever."

From BBC

I’m more of a “Simpsons” fan, but I’ve always appreciated “South Park” for consistently arguing throughout its 27-year run that indiscriminately deporting Mexicans is not just morally and economically wrong but foolish.

From Los Angeles Times

Anything can happen and fortunes of franchises can flip in an instant — oft-struggling Indianapolis is 2-0, for instance, and has yet to punt once — so looking too far in the future is foolish.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absurd 
• crazy 
• fantastic 
• ill-advised 
• insane 
• irrational 
• ludicrous 
• preposterous 
• ridiculous 
• silly 
• stupid 
• unreasonable 
• unwise 

When To Use

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.