Antonyms for foolish
ˈfu lɪʃfool·ish

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:3.9 / 9 votes

1. foolishadjective

   Antonyms:
   bright, sane, intelligent, wise, quick-witted, smart

   Synonyms:
   unwise, brainless, indiscreet, ridiculous, idiotic, silly, imprudent

2. foolishadjective

   lacking good sense or judgement; unwise

   Antonyms:
   smart, intelligent, wise, sane, bright, quick-witted

   Synonyms:
   silly, imprudent, idiotic, unwise, ridiculous, indiscreet, brainless

3. foolishadjective

   Resembling or characteristic of a fool.

   Being foolish once in a while does not make one a foolish person.

   Synonyms:
   idiotic, brainless, silly, ridiculous, indiscreet, unwise, imprudent

   Antonyms:
   quick-witted, wise, bright, sane, smart, intelligent

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. foolish

   That is absurd which is contrary to the first principles of reasoning; as, that a part should be greater than the whole is absurd. A paradoxical statement appears at first thought contradictory or absurd, while it may be really true. Anything is irrational when clearly contrary to sound reason, foolish when contrary to practical good sense, silly when petty and contemptible in its folly, erroneous when containing error that vitiates the result, unreasonable when there seems a perverse bias or an intent to go wrong. Monstrous and preposterous refer to what is overwhelmingly absurd; as, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two," Shakespeare 1 King Henry IV, act ii, sc. 4. The ridiculous or the nonsensical is worthy only to be laughed at. The lunatic's claim to be a king is ridiculous; the Mother Goose rimes are nonsensical. Compare INCONGRUOUS.

   Antonyms:
   certain, consistent, demonstrable, demonstrated, established, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, infallible, logical, rational, reasonable, sagacious, sensible, sound, substantial, true, undeniable, unquestionable, wise

   Synonyms:
   absurd, anomalous, chimerical, erroneous, false, ill-advised, ill-considered, ill-judged, inconclusive, incorrect, infatuated, irrational, ludicrous, mistaken, monstrous, nonsensical, paradoxical, preposterous, ridiculous, senseless, stupid, unreasonable, wild

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. foolish

   Antonyms:
   sensible, sane, deep, clearsighted, sound, sagacious, strongminded, wise, prudent, judicious, calculating, advisable, eligible

   Synonyms:
   senseless, idiotic, crazed, shallow, weak, silly, injudicious, irrational, absurd, contemptible, objectionable, witless, brainless, imbecile, preposterous, ridiculous, nonsensical, simple

Princeton's WordNetRate these antonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. foolishadjective

   devoid of good sense or judgment

   "foolish remarks"; "a foolish decision"

   Antonyms:
   all-knowing, wise, sapient, sagacious, owlish, omniscient, perspicacious, sage, smart, sapiential

   Synonyms:
   jerky, goosy, goosey, anserine, dopey, dopy, gooselike

2. anserine, dopy, dopey, foolish, goosey, goosy, gooselike, jerkyadjective

   having or revealing stupidity

   "ridiculous anserine behavior"; "a dopey answer"; "a dopey kid"; "some fool idea about rewriting authors' books"

   Antonyms:
   sapient, sage, wise, perspicacious, all-knowing, omniscient, smart, sagacious, owlish, sapiential

   Synonyms:
   jerking, choppy, anserine, dopy, dopey, goosy, goosey, jerky, arrhythmic, gooselike

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   idiotic, senseless, irrational, silly, imbecile, witless, insensate, weak-minded, half-witted, brainless, fatuous, fatuitous, insagacious, unintelligent, indiscreet, imprudent, ridiculous, absurd, asinine, inept, nonsensical, puerile

Editors ContributionRate these antonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. cleverly

   i acted cleverly

   Submitted by anonymous on May 14, 2020  

How to use foolish in a sentence?

1. Mac Thornberry:

   He'd be foolish to veto it, but I can't promise you he's not going to be foolish.

2. British Foreign Secretary:

   This is not about regime change … This is not about trying to turn the tide of the conflict in Syria, there is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks because so far thank heavens the Assad regime have not been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack.

3. Fyodor Dostoevsky:

   By interpreting freedom as the propagation and immediate gratification of needs, people distort their own nature, for they engender in themselves a multitude of pointless and foolish desires, habits, and incongruous stratagems. Their lives are motivated only by mutual envy, sensuality, and ostentation.

4. Ralph Waldo Emerson,:

   There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise, the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us.

5. Thomas Fuller:

   Never contend with one that is foolish, proud, positive, testy, or with a superior, or a clown, in matter of argument.

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