foolish

foolish
foolish 1 *simple, silly, fatuous, asinine
Analogous words: idiotic, imbecilic, moronic (see corresponding nouns at FOOL)
Contrasted words: intelligent, clever, quick-witted, bright, smart
2 Foolish, silly, absurd, preposterous, as applied to a person, his acts, behavior, and utterances, mean ridiculous because not exhibiting good sense.
Something is foolish which does not commend itself to the judgment of others as wise or sensible or judicious
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a foolish investment

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courageous behavior is easier for a man who fails to apprehend dangers, but such courage may often be foolishRussell

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only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment— Roosevelt

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Something is silly which seems witless, pointless, or futile
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a silly dispute

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a silly sacrifice

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how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be, especially if he's getting on in years— Hammett

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Something is absurd which is inconsistent with accepted ideas, common sense, or sound reason; the word is applied, therefore, to ideas and projects considered impersonally as well as to persons and their acts
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the absurd . . . dogma that the king can do no wrong— Shaw

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the absurd predicament of seeming to argue that virtue is highly desirable but intensely unpleasant— Lippmann

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Something is preposterous which is glaringly absurd
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if a man cannot see a church, it is preposterous to take his opinion about its altarpiece or painted window— T. H. Huxley

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or sometimes merely highly unsuitable or ridiculously out of keeping (as with a particular character or situation)
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he put on his preposterous old flowered cashmere dressing gown— D eland

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Analogous words: ridiculous, ludicrous, *laughable
Antonyms: sensible
Contrasted words: *wise, sane, judicious, prudent, sage, sapient

New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.

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  • Foolish — Fool ish, a. 1. Marked with, or exhibiting, folly; void of understanding; weak in intellect; without judgment or discretion; silly; unwise. [1913 Webster] I am a very foolish fond old man. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Such as a fool would do;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Foolish — may refer to:* Foolish (album), Superchunk s fourth studio album * Foolish (song), the debut single by Ashanti * , a book of stories and poems by Ashanti * Foolish (Shawty Lo song)ee also* Foolishness …   Wikipedia

  • Foolish — bezeichnet: Foolish (Lied), Lied der US amerikanischen Sängerin Ashanti Siehe auch: Foolish Wives (deutscher Titel: Törichte Frauen), US amerikanisches Filmdrama von Erich von Stroheim These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You), Jazz Lied von Harry… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • foolish — index fatuous, ill advised, impolitic, imprudent, inept (incompetent), irrational, ludicrous, lunatic …   Law dictionary

  • foolish — (adj.) early 14c., from FOOL (Cf. fool) (n.) + ISH (Cf. ish). Related: Foolishly; foolishness. Old English words for this were dysig, stunt, dol …   Etymology dictionary

  • foolish — [adj] nonsensical, idiotic absurd, asinine, brainless, cockamamy*, crazy, daffy*, daft, dippy*, doltish*, dotty*, fantastic, fatuous, feebleminded*, half baked*, half witted*, harebrained*, ill advised, ill considered, imbecilic, imprudent,… …   New thesaurus

  • foolish — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ lacking good sense or judgement; silly or unwise. DERIVATIVES foolishly adverb foolishness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • foolish — [fo͞ol′ish] adj. [ME folish] 1. without good sense; silly; unwise 2. a) ridiculous; absurd b) abashed; embarrassed 3. Archaic humble SYN. ABSURD foolishly adv. foolishne …   English World dictionary

  • foolish — fool|ish [ˈfu:lıʃ] adj 1.) a foolish action, remark etc is stupid and shows that someone is not thinking sensibly = ↑silly ▪ I ve never heard anything so foolish in all my life. ▪ It would be foolish to ignore his advice. be foolish enough to do… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • foolish — foolishly, adv. foolishness, n. /fooh lish/, adj. 1. resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill considered; unwise: a foolish action, a foolish speech. 2. lacking forethought or caution. 3. trifling, insignificant, or paltry. [1250 1300; ME… …   Universalium

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