What is the Latin word for folly?

The usual Latin words for “folly” are stultitia, dēmēns, fatuitās; also īnsipiēns, āmēns, dēlīrium. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“folly” in Latin

stultitiaFolly, stupidity, foolishness, simplicity, silliness, fatuity.dēmēnsout of one’s mind or senses: mad, raving, insane, crazy; more generally: foolish, reckless, distracted, infatuated fatuitāsfoolishness, folly, silliness īnsipiēnsfoolish, unwise, without intelligence, senseless; or used as a substantive adjective: a fool, etc.āmēnsfrenzied, mad; frantic, distracted; insane, demented dēlīriumDelirium, madness, frenzy.stultusfoolish, fatuous, stupid, ill-considered prāvitāscrookedness, inequality, irregularity, deformity; impropriety, perverseness; viciousness, untowardness, depravity improbitāswickedness, dishonesty, improbity; shamelessness, depravity quīwho, that, which, what

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

folly

As state; quality of mind, stultitia: dementia: fatuitas: insipientia: dementia: amentia: delirium. [SYN. of adjectives in FOOLISH.] That is a very great folly, there can be no greater folly, quo nihil est stultius: I consider it the height of folly to, etc., summae dementiae esse judico, with infinitive; or quid est stultius, quam...?To have reached such a height of folly, eo dementiae progressum esse.

A foolish action or deed, *stulte or inepte factum; stultitia. It is folly to, etc., stultitia est (aliquid facere). To commit a folly, stulte or imprudenter facere (from imprudence): to commit all sorts of folly, omnia stulte facere: to bear anybody’s follies, alicujus stultitias ferre: to give way or to submit to anybody’s follies and absurdities, alicujus stultitias et ineptias devorare: an excess of folly, insania: deliratio: mentis alienatio.

Depravity, pravitas: improbitas (moral perverseness, that tends to).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for folly?: The usual Latin words for “folly” are stultitia, dēmēns, fatuitās; also īnsipiēns, āmēns, dēlīrium. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.