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fool·ish (flĭsh)
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adj.
1. Lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment; silly: a foolish boy; a foolish purchase.
2. Capable of arousing laughter; absurd or ridiculous: a foolish grin.
3. Embarrassed; abashed: I feel foolish telling you this.
4. Insignificant; trivial: foolish little knickknacks.
foolish·ly adv.
foolish·ness n.
Synonyms: foolish, absurd, fatuous, ludicrous, preposterous, ridiculous, silly
These adjectives are applied to people or things that show an absence of good judgment or common sense: a foolish expenditure of energy; an absurd idea that is bound to fail; fatuous optimism that does not take the real problem into account; dismissed her ludicrous criticism; a preposterous excuse that no one believed; offered a ridiculous explanation for his tardiness; a silly argument.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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