Synonyms for foolish
ˈfu lɪʃfool·ish

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:3.9 / 9 votes

1. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   unwise, brainless, indiscreet, ridiculous, idiotic, silly, imprudent

   Antonyms:
   bright, sane, intelligent, wise, quick-witted, smart

2. foolishadjective

   lacking good sense or judgement; unwise

   Synonyms:
   silly, imprudent, idiotic, unwise, ridiculous, indiscreet, brainless

   Antonyms:
   smart, intelligent, wise, sane, bright, quick-witted

3. foolishadjective

   Resembling or characteristic of a fool.

   Being foolish once in a while does not make one a foolish person.

   Synonyms:
   idiotic, brainless, silly, ridiculous, indiscreet, unwise, imprudent

   Antonyms:
   quick-witted, wise, bright, sane, smart, intelligent

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. foolish

   That is absurd which is contrary to the first principles of reasoning; as, that a part should be greater than the whole is absurd. A paradoxical statement appears at first thought contradictory or absurd, while it may be really true. Anything is irrational when clearly contrary to sound reason, foolish when contrary to practical good sense, silly when petty and contemptible in its folly, erroneous when containing error that vitiates the result, unreasonable when there seems a perverse bias or an intent to go wrong. Monstrous and preposterous refer to what is overwhelmingly absurd; as, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two," Shakespeare 1 King Henry IV, act ii, sc. 4. The ridiculous or the nonsensical is worthy only to be laughed at. The lunatic's claim to be a king is ridiculous; the Mother Goose rimes are nonsensical. Compare INCONGRUOUS.

   Synonyms:
   absurd, anomalous, chimerical, erroneous, false, ill-advised, ill-considered, ill-judged, inconclusive, incorrect, infatuated, irrational, ludicrous, mistaken, monstrous, nonsensical, paradoxical, preposterous, ridiculous, senseless, stupid, unreasonable, wild

   Antonyms:
   certain, consistent, demonstrable, demonstrated, established, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, infallible, logical, rational, reasonable, sagacious, sensible, sound, substantial, true, undeniable, unquestionable, wise

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. foolish

   Synonyms:
   senseless, idiotic, crazed, shallow, weak, silly, injudicious, irrational, absurd, contemptible, objectionable, witless, brainless, imbecile, preposterous, ridiculous, nonsensical, simple

   Antonyms:
   sensible, sane, deep, clearsighted, sound, sagacious, strongminded, wise, prudent, judicious, calculating, advisable, eligible

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. foolishadjective

   devoid of good sense or judgment

   "foolish remarks"; "a foolish decision"

   Synonyms:
   jerky, goosy, goosey, anserine, dopey, dopy, gooselike

   Antonyms:
   all-knowing, wise, sapient, sagacious, owlish, omniscient, perspicacious, sage, smart, sapiential

2. anserine, dopy, dopey, foolish, goosey, goosy, gooselike, jerkyadjective

   having or revealing stupidity

   "ridiculous anserine behavior"; "a dopey answer"; "a dopey kid"; "some fool idea about rewriting authors' books"

   Synonyms:
   jerking, choppy, anserine, dopy, dopey, goosy, goosey, jerky, arrhythmic, gooselike

   Antonyms:
   sapient, sage, wise, perspicacious, all-knowing, omniscient, smart, sagacious, owlish, sapiential

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   senseless, idiotic, silly, weak, DAFT, simple, irrational, insensate, shallow, brainless, witless, thick-skulled, buffle-headed, shallow-brained

2. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   unwise, unreasonable, absurd, ridiculous, nonsensical, ill-judged, preposterous, indiscreet, imprudent

3. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   idle, trivial, trifling, vain, childish, puerile, contemptible

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. foolishadjective

   Synonyms:
   idiotic, senseless, irrational, silly, imbecile, witless, insensate, weak-minded, half-witted, brainless, fatuous, fatuitous, insagacious, unintelligent, indiscreet, imprudent, ridiculous, absurd, asinine, inept, nonsensical, puerile

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "foolish":

   stupid, silly, idiot, unwise, senseless, ridiculous, dumb, absurd, crazy, insane, madness, nonsensical, idiotic, dom, fool, mindless, unconscious, nonsense, unreasonable, imprudent

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How to use foolish in a sentence?

1. Alexandre Dumas:

   I prefer the wicked rather than the foolish. The wicked sometimes rest.

2. Steve Hayes:

   [Afghanistan] is not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again, i'm certain that at the White House ... his advisers all cringed because it's a very foolish thing to say.

3. Dick Cheney:

   NAFTA has been a good deal, i hope we do not do something foolish in terms of trade policy.

4. John Giles:

   Ten years ago, if you wanted to be politically relevant and if you wanted your vote to have an impact, you were foolish to be registered as a Democrat because they failed to field a candidate for some offices and even then it was just volunteering to get killed in the general by the Republican, that certainly is no longer the case now. It is extremely competitive.

5. William of Baskerville:

   So, rather than appear foolish afterward, I renounce seeming clever now.