What does foolery mean?
Foolery means foolish or playful behaviour — the antics, jests, and absurdities characteristic of a fool. It sits on a spectrum of tone: at one end it describes affectionate, harmless silliness, the kind of clowning found at carnivals or among friends; at the other it names senseless conduct that an observer views with impatience or scorn. The word is almost always used as a mass noun, though the plural 'fooleries' occasionally appears for repeated instances of such behaviour. Its most famous appearance in literature comes from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where the jester Feste declares that 'foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun', arguing that folly is universal. Related words include tomfoolery, which emphasises mischievous play, and folly, which targets poor judgment rather than behaviour itself. Foolery remains useful whenever a writer wants a single word that captures both the comedy and the absurdity of acting the fool.
nounFoolery is foolish or playful behaviour, speech, or antics — the conduct characteristic of a fool. It can denote harmless silliness or, less charitably, senseless conduct deserving of scorn.
- Foolish or absurd behaviour, speech, or antics; silly playfulness.
- Senseless or ill-judged conduct regarded with contempt or disapproval.
"The office ground to a halt while everyone indulged in a bout of April Fool's foolery."
"He waved off the committee's bickering as mere foolery that delayed real work."
"The carnival's foolery — costumes, pranks, and clowning — delighted the children."
Foolery is most often used as a mass noun without a plural. When instances are counted individually, the plural 'fooleries' may be used, though it is uncommon and somewhat literary.
"The court jester's various fooleries kept the king amused for years."
"Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere" — Feste delivers that line in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, giving this word one of the most quotable endorsements in English drama.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of foolery
Foolery was formed in English by combining 'fool' — itself borrowed in the Middle Ages from the Old French 'fol', descendant of Latin 'follis', originally a bellows or windbag, a fitting image for an empty-headed person — with the suffix '-ery', the same suffix that produced kindred abstractions like mockery and trickery. The word emerged during the early modern period, in the seventeenth century, when writers were coining many such '-ery' nouns to name classes of behaviour. Its lineage is thus shared with folly and other derivatives of the same Latin root.
How foolery is actually used
The tone of the word depends heavily on context: it can be affectionate when describing harmless fun, but dismissive or censorious when applied to behaviour seen as a waste of time or an affront to good sense. It has a slightly literary, old-fashioned flavour compared with everyday terms like 'silliness'.
Easily confused with foolery
Tomfoolery refers specifically to playful, mischievous silliness, while foolery more broadly covers any foolish behaviour and carries a sharper potential for contempt.
Folly denotes a foolish act, course of action, or lack of judgment, whereas foolery describes foolish behaviour or antics as such.