B2nounformalpsychologylanguage
US/ˈfɑː.li/
UK/ˈfɒl.i/
a foolish action or idea, or the quality of being foolish
In context
Investing all your savings in one company would be sheer folly.
He later admitted that leaving school so early had been a folly.
The follies of youth are easy to forgive but hard to forget.
Words that go with folly
adjective + noun
- sheer follyDriving in that storm was sheer folly.
- youthful follyHe blamed his mistakes on youthful folly.
- human follyThe book is a study of human folly.
noun + preposition
- the folly ofHe regretted the folly of trusting a stranger.
- the height of follyIgnoring the warning was the height of folly.
verb + noun
- realize the follyShe soon realized the folly of her plan.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:
It was a folly idea.Correct: It was a foolish idea.