1
as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment
the foolishness of going off to search for the fountain of youth
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2
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
couldn't listen to another second of their foolishness, so I told them to be quiet
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3
as in stupidness
the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind
you didn't fail the test because of any innate foolishness but because of a lack of preparation
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of foolishness
Many have faulted Cuba’s Stalinist bureaucratic centralization, but few critiques are as replete with concrete examples of foolishness and foul-ups.
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Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012
Part of that rebuttal is a near-desperate attempt to paint variety as dangerous and inclusion as foolishness.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
Still, for Harris and Walz, the comic frame seems to leave enough political elbow room for those who usually don’t vote Democrat to discover the foolishness of supporting the Republican presidential ticket.
—Richard Cherwitz, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2024
Alarmed at the foolishness of Washington’s Geneva initiative, Sadat, at great personal risk, had once again acted radically to mitigate détente’s damaging effects.
—Gabriel Scheinmann, Foreign Affairs, 17 May 2015
See all Example Sentences for foolishness 
Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012
Part of that rebuttal is a near-desperate attempt to paint variety as dangerous and inclusion as foolishness.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
Still, for Harris and Walz, the comic frame seems to leave enough political elbow room for those who usually don’t vote Democrat to discover the foolishness of supporting the Republican presidential ticket.
—Richard Cherwitz, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2024
Alarmed at the foolishness of Washington’s Geneva initiative, Sadat, at great personal risk, had once again acted radically to mitigate détente’s damaging effects.
—Gabriel Scheinmann, Foreign Affairs, 17 May 2015
See all Example Sentences for foolishness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foolishness
Noun
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This is reminiscent of the famous remark that this is a fine line between genius and insanity.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
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Then again, believing that to be true might just be what insanity looks like from the inside.Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Oct. 2024
Noun
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And yeah, some of the items on his list are utter nonsense.Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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There is no nonsense in Ron Norsworthy’s gaze or tone.Essence, Essence, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Still, there was a method to Zimmer’s musical madness, which was entirely in alignment for McQueen’s unflinching vision for Blitz.Scott Huver, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2024
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Trying to pin down the human mental capacity of being creative or imaginative, and tie that to the human capacity of madness or hallucinating is a tough road to hoe.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
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But in Judge’s intentionally crass lament (which somehow becomes more prescient and troublesome by the day), our rampant national boorishness and stupidity was sort of the point.Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2024
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The problem lies in the stupidity of the is original spec.Charlie Fink, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Amaral began using horsehair as a material in the late 1960s, exploiting its natural stiffness which enabled her to scale up her work, for example with ‘Gran Muro’ (‘Great Wall’) which features strips of different lengths and thicknesses stitched onto a cotton backing.Lee Sharrock, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
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One theory is that, even though male athletes tend to be taller and heavier than female athletes, the maximum midsole thickness of 40 millimetres (about 1.6 inches) imposed by World Athletics is the same for everyone.Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The production’s simplicity ditched the cliches that have accumulated around the play over decades.Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
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Raines believes that simplicity also applies to his politics.Terry Collins, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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On the floor above a woman sweeps the floor, an act of absurdity that doubles as bravery, the whole scene a desperate attempt at normalcy in a world that has become anything but.Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
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Accentuating the absurdity of the gold rush, one of the screenwriters of Mezrich’s project, Lauren Schuker Blum, was competing with her husband, the producer Jason Blum, who was racing to get HBO’s project developed.Simon van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Refrigerate overnight and then top with honey or maple syrup, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, coconut flakes or nuts.Lauryn Higgins, Parents, 2 Oct. 2024
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For constipation, drink fluids and gradually increase fiber intake from sources like bran, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to promote regular bowel movements.Patricia Weiser, PharmD, Verywell Health, 2 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Foolishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolishness. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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