folly
fol·ly/ˈfɑli/noun, verb
folly is spelled F-O-L-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fol·ly). It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, folly means “Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of folly is follies.
How many letters and syllables are in folly?
| Letters | 5: F-O-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fol·ly |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is folly?
Folly appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce folly?
- UK /ˈfɒli/
- British /ˈfɔlɪj/
- US /ˈfɑli/
Folly has 2 syllables, split fol·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-folly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with folly?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as folly from its last stressed vowel (/ɑli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of folly
- follies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- follying participle, present
- follied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does folly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality.
It would be folly to walk all that way, knowing the shops are probably shut by now.
- 2
Thoughtless action resulting in tragic consequence.
The purchase of Alaska from Russia was termed Seward's folly.
- 3
A fanciful building built for purely ornamental reasons.
A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.
- 4
A clump of trees, particularly one on the crest of a hill (or sometimes on a stretch of open ground).
During the 1920s and 1930s, Folly Farms (above) [referencing a photograph of a farmhouse surrounded by large trees] was owned by Mrs. Samuel Pennington Rotan of Pennsylvania, who was involved in the effort to improve medical care for the in
verb
- 1
To follow.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Folly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | folie, sottise |
| German | Torheit, Narrheit, Dummheit, Tollheit, Aberwitz, Verrücktheit |
| Portuguese | bobeira |
| Spanish | locura, insensatez, necedad, nesciencia, nescedad , capricho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does folly come from?
Inherited from Middle English folie, from Old French folie (“madness”), from the adjective fol (“mad, insane”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).