follia

madness; folly

noun fohl-LEE-ah Rare

Usage Note

Follia denotes both clinical madness (la follia di un pazzo) and impulsive, reckless behavior (che follia! = 'what madness!/how crazy!'). The latter exclamatory use is very common in everyday Italian. The stress falls on the i: 'fohl-LEE-ah'. The related adjective is folle ('mad, crazy').

Examples

"Sarebbe una follia tentare quell'impresa da solo."

Natural Translation

It would be madness to attempt that undertaking alone.

Literal Translation

It-would-be a madness to-attempt that undertaking alone.

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