plural follies
1
: lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight
his folly in thinking he could not be caught
2
a
: criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct
b
3
: a foolish act or idea
The prank was a youthful folly.
4
: an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking
Paying so much for that land was folly, since it was all rocks and scrub trees.
5
: an often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste
Examples of folly in a Sentence
the folly of driving fast on steep, winding roads
his folly in thinking that he would not be noticed
The folly of such an action should be apparent to everyone.
the follies of the modern world
the famous Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920s
Recent Examples on the Web
Viewers cannot easily brush them off as follies and are forced to confront them as qualified competitors to traditional photos.
—
Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2025
The worst public-health folly in American history, a total overreaction, one that the society will need generations to recover from.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
The folly of swapping him out for Ibrahimovic, football’s most brash individualist outside of Cristiano Ronaldo, was exposed in less than a year.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
See above to see the folly of the inflation definition.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folly
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Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2025
The worst public-health folly in American history, a total overreaction, one that the society will need generations to recover from.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
The folly of swapping him out for Ibrahimovic, football’s most brash individualist outside of Cristiano Ronaldo, was exposed in less than a year.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 6 Feb. 2025
See above to see the folly of the inflation definition.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folly
Cite this Entry
“Folly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folly. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
folly
noun
fol·ly
ˈfäl-ē 
plural follies
1
: lack of good sense or judgment
2
: foolish behavior
3
: a foolish act or idea
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