foolery

noun

fool·​ery ˈfül-rē How to pronounce foolery (audio)
ˈfü-lə-
plural fooleries
1
: a foolish act, utterance, or belief
2
: foolish behavior

Examples of foolery in a Sentence

an amusing bit of foolery investing in that company now would be foolery
Recent Examples on the Web Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly all drop by to participate in the Jack-foolery. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2022 The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful. Stanislav Budnitsky, The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2022 Our magpie eyes will always be drawn to foolery and ephemera. Giles Hattersley, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2021 Once every ten years, the first of April assumes a far more significant importance than the annual sharing of April foolery. James Deutsch, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2020 All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery. John Hirschauer, National Review, 17 Sep. 2019 In memory, during that long-ago evening on the edge of the woods, even my young children were drawn into its whirligig of shipwrecks, twins in disguise, misread letters, wise foolery and foolish wisdom. Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 11 July 2019 Elsewhere, the lack of physicality that muted the foolery also seemed a factor affecting many actors’ deliveries. Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 11 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foolery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of foolery was in 1562

Dictionary Entries Near foolery

Cite this Entry

“Foolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foolery. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

foolery

noun
fool·​ery ˈfül-(ə-)rē How to pronounce foolery (audio)
plural fooleries
1
: a foolish act : horseplay
2
: foolish behavior
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