Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Foolish behavior or speech.
- n. An instance of foolish behavior or speech; a jest.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The habit of acting foolishly; habitual folly; attention to trifles.
- n. An act of folly; a trifling or senseless action.
- n. A foolish performance; a farcical exhibition; a mummery; a farce.
- n. A foolish belief or practice; anything based on fatuity.
Wiktionary
- n. Foolish behaviour or speech.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The practice of folly; the behavior of a fool; absurdity.
- n. An act of folly or weakness; a foolish practice; something absurd or nonsensical.
WordNet 3.0
- n. foolish or senseless behavior
Examples
“Daisy, Daisy, "said he, shaking her shoulders gently," this religious foolery is spoiling you.”
“No man can threaten me, even anonymously or in foolery.”
“I can only foresee," he exclaimed, "the working-classes of Europe uniting in a great federation to cry: 'We will have no more of this madness and foolery, which is grinding us to powder!”
“And I'm not going to let anybody get away with that kind of foolery!”
“This was the kind of foolery the children understood and liked.”
The Rockingdown Mystery
“In every kind of foolery she is a most willing ally with Henrik and Eva, whenever they will grant her so much favour; and if these three be heard whispering together, one may be quite sure that some roguery or other is on foot.”
“Museveni said that he himself participated in the "foolery" and has taken Vincent Otti,s telephone calls and sent the LRA cows for Christmas.”
“I'm not going to let anyone get away with that kind of foolery," Matthews said.”
“would pull this kind of foolery, but he'd also make his toupee handler fluff something else besides the merkin on his head.”
“And then they speak to us like we are kids like we don't see through this tom-foolery.”
McConnell: There's a bailout fund in current Wall St. reform bill
Lists
‘foolery’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
bilby "This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working —bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming—all toiling away in solemn foolery."
- George Orwell, 'A Hanging'. Sep 8, 2009