Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Plural form of
folly . - noun uncountable A lavishly-produced theatrical
revue characterized by major stars, huge casts, and opulent costumes and scenery.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a revue with elaborate costuming
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word follies.
Examples
-
Brandt's fools as contemptible and loathsome, and say what he calls follies might be better described as sins and vices.
History of English Humour, Vol. 1 (of 2) With an Introduction upon Ancient Humour Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange 1873
-
A great portion of the errors and mistakes, and of what we call the follies, of children arise from simple ignorance.
-
Brandt's fools are represented as contemptible and loathsome rather than _foolish_, and what he calls follies might be more correctly described as sins and vices.
The Ship of Fools, Volume 1 Sebastian Brant 1489
-
First, the ordinary citizen and voter must acquire a greater awareness of his own nature, his liability to certain follies, ever recurrent and ever disastrous; secondly, a greater knowledge of the nature of the necessary mechanism of society; and thirdly, of the nature of truth, of true methods of interpretation, the means by which the lessons told by common facts can be applied to the solution of social problems as they arise.
-
He smiled at the vain follies of the countess, and broke the seal of her letter.
The Scottish Chiefs 1875
-
(Pause, during which Gwendolen made several interpretations of her own speech.) "What do you call follies?"
Daniel Deronda George Eliot 1849
-
He bitterly denounced the administration of that pure Democrat, James Madison, and ridiculed what he termed the follies of Thomas Jefferson. "
Americanism Contrasted with Foreignism, Romanism, and Bogus Democracy in the Light of Reason, History, and Scripture; In which Certain Demagogues in Tennessee, and Elsewhere, are Shown Up in Their True Colors William Gannaway Brownlow 1841
-
8 The experience of so many princes, whom he had esteemed or endured, from the vain follies of Elagabalus to the useful rigor of Aurelian, taught him to form a just estimate of the duties, the dangers, and the temptations of their sublime station.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206
-
To judge, however, by the ardor with which he worked, he was engaged in some one of those schemes that are termed follies before success, but which, after success, are universally acknowledged to be brilliant and praiseworthy instances of industrial enterprise.
Willis the Pilot Paul Adrien
-
But leave to others these niceties, 'whether they are to be described as follies or absurdities:
Gorgias 427? BC-347? BC Plato 1855
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.