folly

/ˈfɑli/

//ˈfɑli// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"folly" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“folly” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,561. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,561
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-folly · folly · English

folly · rank #18,561 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,561
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fiesta

Nearest frequency peer: fiesta (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “folly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “folly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

folly vs foy
60% similar
folly vs full
60% similar
folly vs fool
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for folly
PropertyValue
Headwordfolly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɑli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#18,561
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “folly”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).follylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “fiesta” (#18,560), “foo” (#18,562), “fang” (#18,559). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “folly” is #18,561. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around folly (IPA /ˈfɑli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,561 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for folly, with forms such as "ffolly", "floly", and "follyy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "foy", "full", "fool", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from Old French folie (“madness”), from the adjective fol (“mad, insane”). The correct English form is folly, spelled F-O-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality.
  2. 2
    Thoughtless action resulting in tragic consequence.
  3. 3
    A fanciful building built for purely ornamental reasons.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how folly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It would be folly to walk all that way, knowing the shops are probably shut by now.
  2. With the voices singing in our ears, saying That this was all folly.

Etymology

Derived from Old French folie (“madness”), from the adjective fol (“mad, insane”).

This word in other languages

locura(Español)folie(Français)Torheit(Deutsch)bobeira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffolly
  • floly
  • follyy
  • foly
  • folyl
  • oflly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of folly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffolly1floly2follyy1foly1folyl2oflly2
Edit distance from "folly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "folly"?
"folly" is spelled F-O-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɑli/.
What does "folly" mean?
As a noun, "folly" means: Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality.
What words are commonly confused with "folly"?
"folly" is commonly confused with "foy", "full", "fool". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "folly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "folly" is /ˈfɑli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "folly"?
Derived from Old French folie (“madness”), from the adjective fol (“mad, insane”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "folly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fumes#18,566ebony#18,548hikes#18,577Davey#18,534

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

fang6 variantscoupe6 variantsChun6 variantsLizzie6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list