buffoon

[buh-foon]

noun

1. a person who amuses others by tricks, jokes, odd gestures and postures, etc.

   Synonyms: fool, clown, jester

2. a person given to coarse or undignified joking.

   Synonyms: boor

3. a silly or foolish person.

   He has been shown to be a pompous, incompetent buffoon.

buffoon

/ bəˈfuːn /

noun

1. a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc

2. a foolish person

Other Word Forms

• buffoonery noun
• buffoonish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of buffoon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of buffoon¹

C16: from French bouffon , from Italian buffone , from Medieval Latin būfō , from Latin: toad

Example Sentences

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".

Read more on BBC

The “buffoon” story comforts those who can’t face the professional competence behind the chaos.

Read more on Salon

Even if he contradicts himself or is caught in a lie or is shown to be the buffoon that he is, she will always hum his political tune.

Read more on Salon

Hoover would see Patel, correctly enough, as a buffoon and a patsy who was bending the FBI’s awesome machinery to the service of a mercurial president’s incoherent personal agenda.

Read more on Salon

“Washington has become Nero’s court, with an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a ketamine-fueled buffoon in charge of purging the civil service.”

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• clown