foolish Hear it!

foolish Definition

fool·ish (fo̵̅o̅l′is̸h)

adjective

  1. without good sense; silly; unwise
    1. ridiculous; absurd
    2. abashed; embarrassed
  3. Archaic humble

Etymology: ME folish

foolish Related Forms

fool′·ishly adverb fool′·ish·ness noun

foolish Synonyms

foolish

modif.

silly, senseless, unwise, absurd; see silly, stupid 1. See syn. study at absurd.

foolish Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • utterly: If he had not been so utterly foolish, nothing could have prevented your going to the hospital.
  • politically: The military response is not just politically foolish but profoundly wicked.
  • rather: Feeling rather foolish at the selfish nature of my grief I stood to inspect the panel.

Infinitive complement

  • pretend: It would be foolish to pretend there are any easy answers.
  • ignore: Regardless of the legal position students would be foolish to ignore the guidelines regarding breaks from the computer.
  • assume: It would be foolish to assume that 2005 could simply be repeated in 2006 and that it would be a similar success.
  • deny: It would be foolish to deny that there might be a marginal increase in influence in some specialized areas.
  • imagine: And any nation or individual is foolish to imagine that God will never intervene to judge.
  • argue: But if the leader was foolish enough to argue with Moon, he would not remain a leader very long.

Modifies a noun

  • virgin: Or foolish virgins unprepared for the Master's return?
  • notion: The foolish notion is that Respect can be all things to all people.
  • nonsense: Apple is one of, if not the, most Anonymous | Fri 9 June, 2006 11:11pm Article is foolish nonsense.
  • pride: Alan Oakley's foolish pride had caused him to overlook the fact that without it, the body cannot live indefinitely!
  • mistake: You could argue that releasing the data was a foolish mistake.
  • consistency: But it also quotes Emerson, reminding us that " a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds " .

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: It seems exceptionally foolish for people to go where they have no need to go.
  • appear: He felt he had been made to appear foolish by what he considered to be Helen's deception.
  • feel: Feeling rather foolish at the selfish nature of my grief I stood to inspect the panel.
  • look: I didn't want to look foolish by going home with the wrong Welshman.

Preposition: in

extreme: Wine & Dine has said since February that the hype of 2005 Bordeaux was foolish in the extreme.