foolishness

/ˈfulɪʃnɪs/

/ˈfulɪʃnɛs/

Other forms: foolishnesses

Foolishness is nonsense or stupidity; it's acting in a way that is silly or irrational. Throwing a temper tantrum because the lunch line is moving slowly is pure foolishness — your outburst won't make the line move any faster.

When your actions show a lack of good sense or solid judgement, you're betraying your foolishness. Impulsively jumping off the garage roof into a pile of leaves is evidence of your foolishness. We can trace this word's origin back to fool and the Old French fol, "idiot," and also "blacksmith's bellows," from a root meaning "blow or swell."

Definitions of foolishness

1. noun

   the quality of being rash and foolish
   “adjusting to an insane society is total foolishness”

   synonyms: craziness, folly, madness

   type of:

   stupidity

   a poor ability to understand or to profit from experience
2. noun

   the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
   synonyms: folly, unwiseness

   types:

   indiscretion, injudiciousness

   the trait of being injudicious

   absurdism, absurdity, fatuity, fatuousness, silliness

   a ludicrous folly

   asininity

   the quality of being asinine; stupidity combined with stubbornness

   type of:

   trait

   a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
3. noun

   a stupid mistake
   synonyms: betise, folly, imbecility, stupidity

   type of:

   error, fault, mistake

   a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention