foolish

/ˈfulɪʃ/

/ˈfulɪʃ/

Other forms: foolishest; foolisher

Foolish people are silly or senseless, and when you do something foolish, it's clearly unwise or irrational. Sitting on the hood of a car while your friend is driving is a foolish thing to do.

Things that show a lack of judgment are foolish, like cheating on a test or running into the street after a basketball. Foolish decisions at work can cost you your job, and foolish comments can hurt people's feelings. Foolish is a 14th century word that comes from fool, a person who's unwise. The Latin root, follis, means "bellows" or "leather bag." The "silly person" meaning comes from the figurative idea of a "windbag."

Definitions of foolish

1. adjective

   devoid of good sense or judgment
   “foolish remarks”

   “a foolish decision”

   synonyms:

   inadvisable, unadvisable

   not prudent or wise; not recommended

   ill-advised, unadvised

   without careful prior deliberation or counsel

   impolitic

   lacking tact, shrewdness, or prudence

   imprudent

   not prudent or wise

   absurd, cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous

   incongruous;inviting ridicule

   asinine, fatuous, inane, mindless, vacuous

   devoid of intelligence

   cockamamie, cockamamy, goofy, sappy, silly, wacky, whacky, zany

   ludicrous, foolish

   fond

   absurd or silly because unlikely

   harebrained, insane, mad

   very foolish

   ill-conceived, misbegotten, misguided

   poorly conceived or thought out

   rattlebrained, rattlepated, scatterbrained, scatty

   lacking sense or discretion

   unwise

   showing or resulting from lack of judgment or wisdom

   antonyms:

   wise

   having or prompted by wisdom or discernment

   advisable

   worthy of being recommended or suggested; prudent or wise

   advised, well-advised

   having the benefit of careful prior consideration or counsel

   politic

   marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness

   prudent

   careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment

   all-knowing, omniscient

   infinitely wise

   perspicacious, sagacious, sapient

   acutely insightful and wise

   owlish

   resembling an owl; solemn and wise in appearance

   sapiential

   characterized by wisdom, especially the wisdom of God

   sage

   having wisdom that comes with age and experience
2. adjective

   having or revealing stupidity
   synonyms: anserine, dopey, dopy, gooselike, goosey, goosy, jerky

   stupid

   lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity