Meanings
- uncountableThe nature of being a tool.
1 more example
The simplest tool I can think of is a piece of gravel used for making a road. Nothing is done to it, it owes its being a tool to the fact that is subserves a purpose. A broken piece of granite used for macadamizing a road is a more complex instrument, about the toolishness of which no doubt can be entertained.
a. 1902, Samuel Butler, Geoffrey Keynes and Brian Hill editors, Notebooks: Selections, 1951, page 122 - uncountableExcessive concern with tools rather than results.
By now we should have learned that "toolishness" is foolishness. Showering fancy equipment and toys on classrooms without smart planning is unlikely to […]
2002 March 1, “Tech Smart: making discerning technology choices”, in Multimedia Schools1 more example
The walls and halls of Hechinger headquarters are bedizened with icons to tools and toolishness, ranging from classic photographs to a machine that makes […]
1989 September 22, “Touching Tools Of the Trade”, in Washington Post
Origin
From tool + -ish + -ness, influenced by foolishness.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
toolishness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toolishness
“toolishness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toolishness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toolishness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toolishness.
Source: toolishness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.