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# foolish

«foolish» in Mova's school dictionary: **silly or not sensible; showing poor judgement** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (foolish, more foolish, most foolish); adverb foolishly

### meaning for a pupil

1) Foolish means silly or not sensible; showing poor judgement. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#m1)

2) To feel foolish is to feel silly or embarrassed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#m2)

3) To look foolish is to seem stupid to others. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories and fables, foolish characters make bad choices and learn lessons. In safety talks, it is foolish to take risks like swimming alone. It is a softer word than «stupid». Phrases: a foolish mistake, feel foolish, it would be foolish to.

### examples

- It was foolish to leave your bike unlocked. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x1)
- I felt foolish when I fell over in front of everyone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x2)
- The foolish crow dropped its cheese. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x3)
- Don't do anything foolish, like climbing on the roof. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x4)
- He foolishly spent all his pocket money in one day. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x5)
- It would be foolish to swim in a rough sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x6)
- The king made a foolish promise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x7)
- "Ah, you foolish fellows!" he cried. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/#x8)

### note

Comparison usually «more foolish», «most foolish». Noun: fool, foolishness. «Foolish» is milder and more polite than «stupid» or «idiotic», but it can still hurt.

### In the corpora

- [The Mole's apology: «I am very sorry indeed for my foolish and ungrateful conduct ...](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/28-willows-ch1-part4-sploosh/28/)
- [Each time the Cat listens, says the animal is foolish, walks home by his wild lone, and tells nobody.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/93-justso-cat-1-the-first-friend-and-the-first-servant/11/)
- ["Silly" comes from Old English "sælig", meaning blessed or happy; it later meant innocent, and then foolish.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/6/)
- [That frustrateth the tokens of the imposters, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.998/)
- [But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/JER.306/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «foolish» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/foolish/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.