bêtise

noun

bā-ˈtēz How to pronounce bêtise (audio)
Definition of bêtisenext
as in blunder
a foolish act or idea writing a sequel to a Jane Austen novel must be regarded as a literary bêtise of the highest order

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bêtise
  1. blunder
  2. insanity
  3. absurdity
  4. folly
  5. stupidity
Noun
  • The blunder occurred during the triple toss-up round on Thursday, January 16.
    Aaron Rasmussen, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Scientists have long known that DNA-copying systems make the occasional blunder—that’s how cancers often start—but only in recent years has technology been sensitive enough to catalog every genetic booboo.
    Amber Dance, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Jan. 2025
Definition of blunder
Noun
  • Weeks later, more insanity ensued, the 50th home run ball selling for $4.39 million at auction, the highest price ever paid for any ball in any sport.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Germain, who teaches law at Syracuse University in New York, said that, given the weight of evidence, insanity is likely the only defense that will work.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • Corbet’s awkward forcing of his characters into his conceptual framework leads to absurdities and vulgarities—not least in the depiction of László’s first and only Black acquaintance, a laborer named Gordon (Isaach De Bankolé), as a heroin addict.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2025
  • Now Warning Issued To All iPhone Users The Game Awards 2024 Live Winners List, And Game Of The Year Such then is the delicate balance of accessibility and exclusivity, creativity and commerciality, genius and absurdity.
    Lilian Raji, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of absurdity
Noun
  • Newsom and California similarly gave Trump a chance to call out the follies of Democratic rule, endearing the president to his own base.
    Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
  • But there’s also a little bit of hubris and folly in these articles.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of folly
Noun
  • Watch stupidity and laziness (my much better working title for The End of Work was The End of Laziness) rapidly disappear as technological advance erases so much of what people used to do for a living in favor of living for work.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Their books’ fantasies of martyrdom and religious metaphysics are a feint so as not to recognize the need for socialism at home and abroad, and to obscure American stupidity.
    Mark Greif, Harper's Magazine, 26 July 2024
Definition of stupidity
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near bêtise

betimes

bêtise

bêtises

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Bêtise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAtise. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.