as in blunder
a foolish act or idea
writing a sequel to a Jane Austen novel must be regarded as a literary bêtise of the highest order
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bêtise
Noun
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Its acquisitions in consumer banking were at worst blunders and at best decent deals struck in pursuit of a doomed strategy.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
21 July 2025 -
Consider how McDonald's had to end an experiment with AI drive-thru ordering due to blunders that led to customer frustration and viral videos on social media.—
Rishi Kumar,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
Noun
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Kraepelin hoped that schizophrenia would eventually reveal itself to be a disease like neurosyphilis, which was then responsible for a large portion of the cases of insanity in psychiatry wards.—
Rachel Aviv,
New Yorker,
21 July 2025
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Way was nothing short of a force of nature in the role, bringing a mix of mania, terror and insanity to a character that felt straight out of the comic books he’s written.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
21 July 2025
Noun
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Beneath the absurdity and punchlines lies a serious critique of how violence is packaged, sold, and consumed in American media.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 July 2025
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During the performance that shot her to fame earlier this month, Fan laid bare the absurdity facing many victims of domestic violence in the country.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Noun
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Critically dismissed at the time of its release, Spielberg’s grand folly is a lavish spectacle that has attracted a major cult following.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
18 July 2025
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Such is the folly of an uninformed electorate, vulnerable and exploitable to the maxims of tyranny.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
17 July 2025
Noun
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All this stupidity is only part of what makes SB 540 perhaps the year’s dumbest bill.—
Thomas Elias,
Mercury News,
18 July 2025
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To My Canadian brothers and sisters: Please accept the sincerest apologies of many Americans for the lies, degradation and stupidity you have been subjected to by the U.S. president and his supporters and enablers.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
5 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bêtise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/b%C3%AAtise. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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