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Meaning & use

folly

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈfɒli/
US/ˈfɑːli/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    A lack of good judgment; the quality of being foolish.

    Grammar: Used without a plural and often with sheer or pure: sheer folly.

    Patterns

    • sheer folly
    • the folly of doing something
    • in a moment of folly

    Leaving the roof unrepaired was sheer folly.

    He admitted the folly of ignoring the warnings.

    In a moment of folly, she lent him the car keys.

  2. nouncountable

    A foolish act, idea, plan, or undertaking, especially one that causes loss or harm.

    Grammar: Has a plural, follies, for repeated or listed foolish actions.

    Patterns

    • commit a folly
    • repeat the follies of the past
    • a costly folly

    The project became a costly folly.

    History records the follies of arrogant rulers.

    Buying a boat you never use is an expensive folly.

  3. nouncountablespecialist

    A decorative building or structure made mainly for ornament, often with no practical use.

    Grammar: Architectural sense; usually singular in descriptions of estates and gardens.

    Patterns

    • a garden folly
    • a classical folly
    • an estate folly

    The garden has a stone folly built to look like a ruined temple.

    A small folly on the hill frames the sunset view.

    The estate folly was designed for picnics, not shelter.

Word forms

pluralfollies

Common combinations

sheer folly
Driving through the flood was sheer folly.
the folly of
The report examines the folly of delaying repairs.
costly folly
The stadium turned into a costly folly for the city.
garden folly
Visitors photograph the circular garden folly beside the lake.
repeat past follies
The committee voted not to repeat past follies.

Synonyms and how they differ

foolishness
Foolishness is the general uncountable quality; folly can sound more formal or literary and more serious.
madness
Madness suggests extreme irrationality; folly is poor judgment rather than insanity.
mistake
Mistake is neutral and everyday; folly carries moral or practical blame.
extravagance
Extravagance fits only wasteful spending or display, not every foolish act.

Opposites

wisdomprudencesense

Word family

fool noun
A person who lacks judgment.
foolish adjective
Lacking good sense.
foolishly adverb
In a foolish way.
befool verb
To deceive or make a fool of someone; old-fashioned and rare.

Commonly confused: folly or foible? folly or fallacy?

folly vs foible

A foible is a small personal weakness or habit, while folly is serious lack of judgment.

folly vs fallacy

A fallacy is a false belief or flawed argument; folly is foolish conduct or choice.

Practice

Choose the best completion: Ignoring the engineer's warning proved a costly ___.

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