What's the difference between foolishness and indiscretion?

Foolishness


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality of being foolish.
  • (n.) A foolish practice; an absurdity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) So, logic would dictate that if Greeks are genuinely in favour of reform – and opinion polls have consistently shown wide support for many of the structural changes needed – they would be foolish to give these two parties another chance.
  • (2) It would be foolish to bet that Saudi Arabia will exist in its current form a generation from now.” Memories of how the Saudis and Opec deliberately triggered an economic crisis in the west in retaliation for US aid to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war still rankle.
  • (3) That's foolish, because Real Madrid rarely look more uncomfortable than at set pieces.
  • (4) "We regret that Congress was forced to waste its time voting on a foolish bill that was premised entirely on false claims and ignorance," David Jenkins, an REP official, said in a statement.
  • (5) Shorten said while Hicks was “foolish to get caught up in the Afghanistan conflict” the court decision showed an injustice.
  • (6) Many commentators considered the suggestion merely foolish, but computer hackers issued death threats against her and her children, which she promptly posted on Twitter, along with the defiant message: "Get stuffed, losers.
  • (7) And it means that if Labour were to win, Mr Brown would be very foolish, indeed downright wrong, to move Mr Darling.
  • (8) "It was a certain kind of titillation the shop offered," the critic Matthew Collings has written, "sexual but also hopeless, destructive, foolish, funny, sad."
  • (9) Describing the moment McKellen knocked on his dressing room door he said: “I ushered him in nervously, expecting notes for my poor performance or indiscipline – I was a foolish, naughty young actor.
  • (10) But what people did when they were young and foolish, or even when they were not yet public figures, is not always the same.
  • (11) While we have this, it would be foolish to pursue a policy of still constraining resources in the acute sector.
  • (12) All three echoed remarks made recently by the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney, who said it would be “foolish” to cut rates in response to a temporary fall in inflation.
  • (13) Since the initially peaceful demonstrations against his regime began more than three years ago, he has proved himself, by turns, foolish, craven and vicious.
  • (14) In a high-risk, 65-minute speech in Manchester delivered without notes, and 20 minutes longer than he intended, Miliband tried to take the mantle of the 19th-century Tory prime minister Benjamin Disraeli's one nation, pointedly grabbing the territory and language of the centre ground which he believes David Cameron has foolishly vacated.
  • (15) But one backbencher, West Australian Liberal Dennis Jensen , has said it is foolish to set up a $20bn medical research fund at the same time as the government is cutting money from scientific agencies, including the CSIRO and the Australian Research Council.
  • (16) Donald Trump is too weak, too foolish and too chaotic to see beyond the immediate crises he has created.
  • (17) Here, too, Capote displayed uncanny journalistic skills, capturing even the most languid and enigmatic of subjects – Brando in his pomp – and eliciting the kinds of confidences that left the actor reflecting ruefully on his "unutterable foolishness".
  • (18) They privately acknowledge they were foolish in taking the bait, but argue they have broken no rules since they were offered no jobs, and therefore have no commercial interests to declare in the MPs' register.
  • (19) "Hopefully, the lesson is to stop this foolish childishness," McCain said Thursday on CNN.
  • (20) The only thing that one really knows about human nature is that it changes.” As for the social conditions that obtain: “It is exactly the existing conditions that one objects to, and any scheme that could accept these conditions is wrong and foolish.” Looking back on my political activism of the 1970s and 80s, there was a lot of refusing to accept existing conditions on the basis that they were “wrong and foolish”.

Indiscretion


Definition:

  • (n.) The quality or state of being indiscreet; want of discretion; imprudence.
  • (n.) An indiscreet act; indiscreet behavior.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "I think if you look at my record since I have been a manager, I have never had any indiscretions whatsoever," Rodgers continued.
  • (2) Jack Wilshere has sought to highlight his professionalism by posting a video of himself working hard in training, after becoming embroiled in his latest smoking controversy – an indiscretion that has infuriated the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger .
  • (3) The former Big Brother contestant is at the centre of the storm about the use of gagging orders to suppress publication of celebrity sexual indiscretions.
  • (4) It should be borne in mind that alcohol is the popular explain-all of our culture and as such is used as an excuse for everything from sexual indiscretions to well-planned "impulsive" acts.
  • (5) Sterling’s indiscretion was not as dangerous but the match officials missed both incidents and retrospective action may follow.
  • (6) A number of concerns regarding runners' health practices were identified, including running while ill or in pain, incidence of injuries, negative feelings when unable to run, neglect of a conscious cool-down period, low weight levels, and a tendency to increase workouts following perceived dietary indiscretions.
  • (7) Therefore, it is important to recognize hypersensitivity to sesame seed without delay so that the patient may eliminate the causative agent and use suitable medication in the event of a dietary indiscretion.
  • (8) Downing Street has called on the Football Association to make an example of Luis Suárez after he was charged with violent conduct for biting Branislav Ivanovic and Liverpool declared their leading striker would not be sold as a result of his latest indiscretion.
  • (9) Hers is a cautionary tale in an era when it is possible to boast about sexual indiscretions, confess heartbreak or depression, or exact revenge against ex-lovers to a worldwide audience.
  • (10) The trio's indiscipline follows Moyes having to sanction Chris Smalling for a similar indiscretion at the end of last month.
  • (11) Saunders has sailed close to crass indiscretion more than once.
  • (12) But it is unethical and unconstitutional when it is done out of convenience to correct indiscretions.
  • (13) A foreign secretary, Harold Macmillan observed, is forever poised between cliche and indiscretion.
  • (14) That turned around as Woods's personal indiscretions emerged but Mickelson still had to go some professionally to capture hearts and minds.
  • (15) For her to accuse Mrs. Oponyo for indiscretions that have clearly arisen from her personal frustrations that her ego has not been massaged by the state is uncouth, and speaks volumes of a musician who desperately thinks she must generate recognition by bullying state officials instead of playing decent music on the stage.
  • (16) The dietary indiscretions resulted in severe enteritis (indiscretion enteritis).
  • (17) Anyway, this is only a minor indiscretion, compared to some of the blabbing I've done, even when I've been trying very hard not to.
  • (18) In each case toxicity was associated with dietary indiscretion or infection.
  • (19) Dick White, the head of MI5, told the inquiry that Burgess’s “weakness, including his indiscretion and his homosexual tendencies were well known in MI5 but they had not regarded him as a member of the Communist party or as a possible Soviet agent since they did not think him capable of sustaining such a role”.
  • (20) The indiscretion let slip an internal debate at Airbus about the future of the world’s largest jetliner.