Synonyms for folly
ˈfɒl ifol·ly

English Synonyms and Antonyms(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. folly

   Idiocy is a state of mental unsoundness amounting almost or quite to total absence of understanding. Imbecility is a condition of mental weakness, which may or may not be as complete as that of idiocy, but is at least such as to incapacitate for the serious duties of life. Incapacity, or lack of legal qualification for certain acts, necessarily results from imbecility, but may also result from other causes, as from insanity or from age, sex, etc.; as, the incapacity of a minor to make a contract. Idiocy or imbecility is weakness of mind, while insanity is disorder or abnormal action of mind. Folly and foolishness denote a want of mental and often of moral balance. Fatuity is sometimes used as equivalent to idiocy, but more frequently signifies conceited and excessive foolishness or folly. Stupidity is dulness and slowness of mental action which may range all the way from lack of normal readiness to absolute imbecility. Compare INSANITY.

   Synonyms:
   fatuity, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility, incapacity, senselessness, stupidity

   Antonyms:
   acuteness, astuteness, brilliancy, capacity, common sense, intelligence, sagacity, sense, soundness, wisdom

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. folly

   Synonyms:
   madness, nonsense, misconduct, imprudence, silliness, foolishness, weakness, absurdity, imbecility

   Antonyms:
   sense, wisdom, sanity, judgment, prudence, sobriety

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. folly, foolishness, unwisenessnoun

   the trait of acting stupidly or rashly

   Synonyms:
   lunacy, imbecility, madness, foolery, betise, tomfoolery, indulgence, unwiseness, foolishness, stupidity, craziness

   Antonyms:
   wiseness, wisdom

2. stupidity, betise, folly, foolishness, imbecilitynoun

   a stupid mistake

   Synonyms:
   lunacy, imbecility, madness, foolery, betise, tomfoolery, stupidity, indulgence, unwiseness, foolishness, craziness

   Antonyms:
   wisdom, wiseness

3. folly, foolishness, craziness, madnessnoun

   the quality of being rash and foolish

   "trying to drive through a blizzard is the height of folly"; "adjusting to an insane society is total foolishness"

   Synonyms:
   lunacy, foolishness, flakiness, fury, daftness, madness, rabidity, imbecility, stupidity, hydrophobia, rabidness, foolery, tomfoolery, lyssa, craziness, insaneness, indulgence, rage, rabies, unwiseness, betise

   Antonyms:
   wisdom, wiseness

4. folly, foolery, tomfoolery, craziness, lunacy, indulgencenoun

   foolish or senseless behavior

   Synonyms:
   lunacy, foolishness, flakiness, indulging, daftness, madness, lenience, pampering, stupidity, humoring, leniency, foolery, tomfoolery, self-indulgence, craziness, insaneness, indulgence, imbecility, unwiseness, betise

   Antonyms:
   wisdom, wiseness

Matched Categories

1. • Mistake
   • Play
   • Stupidity
   • Trait

Dictionary of English Synonymes(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. follynoun

   Synonyms:
   foolishness, imbecility, fatuity, stupidity, shallowness, dulness, doltishness

2. follynoun

   Synonyms:
   absurdity, extravagance, imprudence, nonsense, indiscretion, act of folly, foolish act

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. follynoun

   Synonyms:
   foolishness, fatuity, indiscretion, unwisdom, absurdity, imprudence

PPDB, the paraphrase database(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "folly":

   madness, insanity, foolishness, lunacy, follies, craziness, stupidity, nonsense, thoughtlessness, crazy

How to pronounce folly?

How to say folly in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use folly in a sentence?

1. Adam Lach:

   Through these photographs, I will try to sensitize people and make them aware that they are often part of the problem, this project aims to show human arrogance and folly and to build in us humility.

2. George Bernard Shaw:

   Popular Christianity has for its emblem a gibbet, for its chief sensation a sanginary execution after torture, for its central mystery is an insane vengeance bought off by a trumpery expiation. But there is a nobler and profounder Christianity which affirms the sacred mystery of equality and forbids the glaring futility and folly of vengeance.

3. Spiro Agnew:

   [1. ] The era of appeasement must come to an end. The political and social demands that dissidents are making of the universities do not flow from sound basic educational criteria, but from strategic considerations on how to radicalize the student body, polarize the campus and extend the privileged enclaves of student power. [2. ] A concise and clear set of rules for campus conduct should be established, transmitted to incoming freshmen, and enforcedwith immediate expulsion the penalty for serious violations. [3. ] It is folly for universities confronted with their current crisis in our turbulent times to open their doors to thousands of patently unqualified students. [4. ] No negotiations under threat or coercion. [5. ] No amnesty for lawlessness or violence. [6. ] Any organization which publicly declares its intention to violate the rules of an academic community and which carries out that declaration should be barred from campus. [7. ] We must look to how we are raising our children. [8. ] We must look to the university that receives those children. Is it prepared to deal with the challenge of the nondemocratic Left?[9. ] Let us support those courageous administrators, professors and students on our college campuses who are standing up for the traditional rights of the academic community.

4. Vladimir Abramov:

   The Kaliningrad contingent is being heavily upgraded qualitatively, not quantitatively, our general staff understands the folly of a large deployment here.

5. Robert A. Heinlein:

   A fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

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