tomfoolery

American  

[tom-foo-luh-ree] / ˌtɒmˈfu lə ri /

noun

tomfooleries plural

1. foolish or silly behavior; tomfoolishness.

   Synonyms:

   monkeyshine, horseplay, silliness, foolishness

2. a silly act, matter, or thing.

---

tomfoolery British  

/ ˌtɒmˈfuːlərɪ /

noun

1. foolish behaviour

2. utter nonsense; rubbish

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tomfooleries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tomfoolery

First recorded in 1805–15; tomfool + -ery

Explanation

Tomfoolery is foolishness. Starting a food fight in a cafeteria is an example of tomfoolery. Tomfoolery is a silly-looking word, and it means a silly thing: foolish or ridiculous behavior. Tomfoolery is senseless behavior, like pulling pranks or being obnoxious. If a bunch of students in class keep talking and laughing, the teacher might yell "Stop your tomfoolery!" Tomfoolery can be annoying to others, but it's usually not serious. Committing a crime is a lot worse than tomfoolery. Tomfoolery is more like goofing around or being a clown.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tomfoolery tomfooleries

On the surface, this is simply the kind of weird tomfoolery you’d expect from the early 1900s.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

But baseball—with its slower pace, older audience and a vibe that could be described as somnolent—has rarely participated in such tomfoolery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

That doesn’t happen until Act 4, but at the earlier finale, full of tomfoolery, the stage is well set for depth in a way not dissimilar to “Falstaff.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

He told the court this was a case of "skylarking and tomfoolery" that had "gone awry".

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023

Seemed like a bunch of tomfoolery to me.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

For 11 seasons, Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” has followed the triumphs, tragedies and tomfooleries of a group of Hollywood 20-something nobodies who became 30-something wannabes as the show became a reality TV juggernaut.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024

Such formal prose does not entirely squelch the sort of tomfooleries that Pynchon devotees so eagerly search out.

From Time Magazine Archive

I must keep out of these tomfooleries, though they have their uses.

From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe

We speak feelingly, for we knew the youth at Trinity Hall, and have a tenderness even for his tomfooleries.

From Famous Reviews by Johnson, R. Brimley

He calls it a collection of crazy tricks or tomfooleries, galskaber, an expression which carries with it, in this sense, a confession of wilful paradox.

From Henrik Ibsen by Gosse, Edmund