foolish

[foo-lish] / ˈfu lɪʃ /

ADJECTIVE

nonsensical, idiotic

Synonyms

STRONGEST

absurd crazy fantastic ill-advised insane irrational ludicrous preposterous ridiculous silly stupid unreasonable unwise

WEAK

asinine brainless cockamamy daffy daft dippy doltish dotty fatuous feebleminded half-baked half-witted harebrained ill-considered imbecilic imprudent incautious indiscreet injudicious jerky kooky loony lunatic mad moronic nutty senseless short-sighted simple unintelligent wacky weak witless zany

Antonyms

STRONGEST

balanced logical plain practical rational realistic reasonable responsible sane sensible serious smart sound wise

WEAK

careful cautious circumspect prudent thoughtful unfoolish

Usage

What are other ways to say foolish? The adjective foolish implies a lack of common sense or good judgment or, sometimes, a weakness of mind: a foolish decision; The child seems foolish. Fatuous implies being not only foolish, dull, and vacant in mind, but complacent and highly self-satisfied as well: fatuous and self-important; fatuous answers. Silly denotes extreme and conspicuous foolishness; it may also refer to pointlessness of jokes, remarks, etc.: silly and senseless behavior; a perfectly silly statement. Inane applies to silliness that is notably lacking in content, sense, or point: inane questions that leave one with no reply. Stupid implies natural slowness or dullness of intellect, or, sometimes, a benumbed or dazed state of mind; it is also used to mean foolish or silly: He was rendered stupid by a blow; It is stupid to do such a thing. Asinine originally meant like an ass; it applies to witlessly stupid conversations or conduct and suggests a lack of social grace or perception: He failed to notice the reaction to his asinine remarks.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

foolish

“I would be foolish, or I would feel entitled, if I didn’t expect there to be disappointment,” McDaniel said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Am I being foolish by keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars invested when I could make my children’s lives easier now?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Kaiser added that the hackers have been "reckless and foolish" and warned them to expect "a significant effort by the FBI to quickly bring them to justice."

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

“You’re kind of foolish if you go into a football season not thinking you’re going to be the guy at some point,” Slaughter said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

She had just kissed him, a foolish thing that he might in time forget, but not half as fast as she would have liked.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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Negative Words to Describe People

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ish

"The Open Window" and "One in a Million"

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foolish

Usage

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Vocabulary lists containing foolish

Negative Words to Describe People

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ish

"The Open Window" and "One in a Million"

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