1
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
foolish people who thought that the world would end in the year 2000 a foolish scheme that was supposed to make us all rich
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2
as in absurd
conceived or made without regard for reason or reality
foolish attempts to construct a perpetual motion machine
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3
as in small
lacking importance
the current regulations are cluttered with foolish details that are unnecessarily burdensome
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foolish
Efforts to exert the barest control over their lives—sneaking off to nap, refusing to shower—are reversed, punished, and revealed to be foolish.
—
Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
Doubting Harrison Smith’s ability to keep contributing into the future would be foolish at this point, but bringing in a capable youngster who could learn from him might also benefit them once Smith retires.
—Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Being cheap is completely foolish and a lot of people make that mistake.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2025
Interspersed in the narrative, there are South Asian folktales about a jackal who is punished for pretending to be a king and a foolish man who puts all his eggs in a basket.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for foolish
Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
Doubting Harrison Smith’s ability to keep contributing into the future would be foolish at this point, but bringing in a capable youngster who could learn from him might also benefit them once Smith retires.
—Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Being cheap is completely foolish and a lot of people make that mistake.
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 2025
Interspersed in the narrative, there are South Asian folktales about a jackal who is punished for pretending to be a king and a foolish man who puts all his eggs in a basket.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for foolish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foolish
Adjective
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Amelia soon decides that stupid boys (and humans in general) aren't worth keeping around.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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And in practice, the experience is delightfully stupid.—
Luke Winkie,
Vulture,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This whole exercise of proving the absence of antisemitism as a prerequisite to criticizing Israeli government policy is absurd.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
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Still, the sexist double standards around pockets have continued to be present in absurd ways.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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With any luck, a little digestive distress will be just a small trade-off for getting past your illness and feeling like yourself again.—
Beth Krietsch,
SELF,
7 Apr. 2025
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Nudie Jeans has a big idea for a new small retail concept.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Moments that may seem silly or insignificant to others — like sharing a particular greeting, teasing each other in a familiar way or even speaking to each other in silly, baby-ish voices — can be great sources of comfort and familiarity for partners.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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The industry has seen its fair share of terrible ideas, from the downright bizarre to the silly.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The movie, based on the video game of the same name, centers around four misfits who are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Mar. 2025
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But their work didn’t rule out the possibility of bizarre algorithms that could somehow use the same piece of memory for storage and calculations simultaneously—the computing equivalent of using a page filled with important notes as scratch paper.—
Ben Brubaker,
Wired News,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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The incident, while ultimately only a minor one, did impact the rest of their vacation.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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And the maddest thing of all is the AI Generator, who wants to marry her!—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Then, using his talents playing the lyre and singing psalms, David grew to be a supportive comfort to the possibly mad King Saul (Ali Suliman) as well as begin a romance with Saul’s daughter, Michal (Indy Lewis).—
Jim Halterman,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Your voice is insane.—
Mary Colurso | mcolurso@al.com,
al,
4 Apr. 2023
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But obviously winning the grand jury prize was insane.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Foolish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foolish. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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