noun
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a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc
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a foolish person
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of buffoon
First recorded in 1540–50; earlier buffon, from French, from Italian buffone, equivalent to buff- (expressive form; compare buffa “puff of breath,” buffare “to puff, puff up one's cheeks”) + -one agent suffix, ultimately from Latin -ōnem, accusative of nominative noun suffix -ō
Explanation
A buffoon is someone whose ridiculous behavior is a source of amusement to others. People you might call a buffoon are a political rival or the guy at work who tells silly jokes at office parties. The noun buffoon has changed its spelling over the years, but not really its meaning. In Middle French, it was bouffon, which came from the Italian buffone, meaning "jester." The original root is the Latin buffare. Think of the stereotypical court jester, the person who makes jokes and falls about trying to make the king laugh — he's paid to be a buffoon.
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
James wasn’t the buffoon his critics disdain, but nor was he a durable leader whose reforms would endure.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
He says he feels like he's the "bumbling buffoon" in the "walled garden that is traditional publishing" and that he's committed a kind of "literary heist".
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
He’s a weasel with a sword, the drunken-samurai trope like the tragic buffoon Kikuchiyo, portrayed by the great Toshiro Mifune in the Akira Kurosawa classic “Seven Samurai.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2024
Among the most sharp-tongued figures in the dispute over the last year was LIV CEO Greg Norman, whom many of those loyal to the PGA Tour consider to be an arrogant buffoon.
From Slate • Jul. 11, 2023
He didn’t seem to be outstandingly bright and many of his colleagues considered him little more than "an irritating buffoon."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
