oaf

[ohf]

noun

1. a clumsy, stupid person; lout.

   Synonyms: boor, churl

2. a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.

   Synonyms: ninny, dolt

3. Archaic.

   1. a deformed or mentally deficient child.

   2. a changeling.

oaf

/ əʊf /

noun

1. a stupid or loutish person

Other Word Forms

• oafish adjective
• oafishly adverb
• oafishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of oaf¹

1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare

Word History and Origins

Origin of oaf¹

C17: variant of Old English ælf _elf

Synonym Study

See boorish ( def. ).

Example Sentences

At first he doesn’t accept her apology but, being the immature oaf that he is, Chris gets back at her by using her as human torpedo to destroy their gooey, disgusting alien target.

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She scrutinized the vicissitudes of the New York City Ballet as well as the feats of the ballroom-dancing pros and celebrity oafs of the popular TV series, “Dancing With the Stars.”

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The daughter is married to a bumbling oaf, whom she bullies with real glee.

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The venture left Stanford one of the world’s wealthiest men, though not, Harris suggests, by his own merit, especially “given the amount of financial chicanery going on” and his reputation as a “big oaf.”

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I just have the sense that life is just this clumsy oaf.

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