bāˈtēz noun
( plural bê·tises -z(ə̇z))
Etymology: French, from bête foolish, from bête blockhead, beast — more at bete
1. : folly , stupidity , ignorance
one more exhibition of the bêtise of an audience when confronted with something fresh — Arnold Bennett
2. : an act of foolishness or stupidity
he had committed as many literary as ideological bêtises and he was soundly chastised for both — D.U.McDowell