foolish

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 folish, foolish. See FOOL1, -ISH1]
Syn. 1, 2. senseless, vacant, vapid, simple, witless. FOOLISH, FATUOUS, SILLY, INANE, STUPID, ASININE imply weakness of intellect and lack of judgment. FOOLISH implies lack of common sense or good judgment or, sometimes, 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 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: well-meaning but stupid; rendered stupid by a blow; It is stupid to do such a thing. ASININE originally meant like an ass; it applies to witlessly stupid conversation or conduct and suggests a lack of social grace or perception: He failed to notice the reaction to his asinine remarks. 1. imprudent, unreasonable, foolhardy, irrational; thoughtless, nonsensical, ridiculous, absurd, pointless, preposterous.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • 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,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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