foolishness

[foo-lish-nis]

noun

1. lack of wisdom or good judgment; foolish quality.

   Oh, the foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness!

2. foolish talk, ideas, or behavior.

   How could someone with such a clever mind as yourself talk such foolishness?

3. a foolish act, error, habit, etc..

   Shakespeare, who looks at all men as if from Mount Olympus, notes their foibles and foolishnesses, and yet smiles on them all.

Other Word Forms

• overfoolishness noun
• unfoolishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of foolishness¹

foolish + -ness

Example Sentences

Addressing Patterson directly, he questioned what "foolishness" had led her to think "murder could be the solution to her problems" - especially given the crime was committed against people who bore her only good will.

From BBC

Fold that talent into any decent parody of mediocre psychological thrillers, and ideally all we’d have to do is sit back and watch everyone alchemize TV movie tin into gold medal foolishness.

From Salon

“Under Paris” fares far better, turning the foolishness dial up so far it breaks.

From Salon

Part of it is working through lifelong, longstanding feelings of “I’m a fool and my foolishness is going to make people incredibly angry with me.”

From Los Angeles Times

I think most Americans see the foolishness of cutting government services without rhyme or reason.

From Salon

Related Words

• absurdity 
• bunk 
• craziness 
• folly 
• indiscretion 
• insanity 
• irrationality 
• irresponsibility www.thesaurus.com
• lunacy 
• rubbish 
• silliness 
• stupidity