Foolishest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterizing a person or action that displays the highest degree of imprudence or lack of wisdom
2. Describing a decision that is the most senseless or irrational in comparison to others
3. Defining the level of judgment that is least reasonable or most absurd among various choices

Etymology: "Foolishest" is the superlative of "foolish," formed by adding the superlative ending "-est" to that adjective. "Foolish" itself comes from "fool" with the suffix "-ish," which means "having the qualities of," so a foolish act is one that resembles a fool's conduct. The superlative simply ranks a thing as the most of that quality among several options, which is why the word describes the choice that is least sensible of all. Because "foolish" ends in a consonant-plus-"-ish" pattern that does not change, the superlative is built in the regular way, so "foolishest" follows the same pattern as "smallest" or "quickest." Many speakers prefer the periphrastic form "most foolish," and dictionaries often treat "foolishest" as a nonstandard or informal variant rather than the standard construction.

Synonyms: silliest, most foolish, most absurd

Antonyms: wise, sensible