fool
1 Americannoun
-
a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.
- Synonyms:
- sap, saphead, booby, nincompoop, ninny, dunderhead, ignoramus, numbskull, blockhead, dunce, dolt, simpleton
- Antonyms:
- genius
-
a professional jester, formerly kept by a person of royal or noble rank for amusement.
the court fool.
-
a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid.
to make a fool of someone.
-
an ardent enthusiast who cannot resist an opportunity to indulge an enthusiasm.
He's just a dancing fool.
-
a weak-minded or idiotic person.
verb (used with object)
-
fools,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fooled,
past participle, past
-
fooling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
fools,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fooled,
past participle, past
-
fooling
present participle
-
to act like a fool; joke; play.
-
to jest; pretend; make believe.
I was only fooling.
verb phrase
-
fool away to spend foolishly, as time or money; squander.
to fool away the entire afternoon.
-
fool around (with)
-
to putter aimlessly; waste time.
She fooled around all through school.
I fooled around with painting for a bit, but never got anywhere with it.
-
Also fool with to handle or play with idly or carelessly.
She was hurt while fooling around with a loaded gun.
It's unkind to fool with someone's affections.
-
to flirt or have casual sexual encounters.
You should know better than to fool around with someone you work with.
They're just fooling around–I don't think the relationship is going to go anywhere.
-
to be sexually promiscuous, especially to engage in adultery.
He's out fooling around while she's at home sick with the flu.
-
idioms
noun
noun
-
a person who lacks sense or judgement
-
a person who is made to appear ridiculous
-
(formerly) a professional jester living in a royal or noble household
-
obsolete an idiot or imbecile
the village fool
-
to play the fool or behave irritatingly
-
a wise or sensible person
-
to deliberately act foolishly; indulge in buffoonery
verb
-
(tr) to deceive (someone), esp in order to make him or her look ridiculous
-
informal (intr; foll by with, around with, or about with) to act or play (with) irresponsibly or aimlessly
to fool around with a woman
-
(intr) to speak or act in a playful, teasing, or jesting manner
-
to squander; fritter
he fooled away a fortune
-
to move or proceed in a leisurely way
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
foolsimple
-
foolssimple
-
have fooledperfect
-
has fooledperfect
-
am foolingprogressive
-
are foolingprogressive
-
is foolingprogressive
-
have been foolingperfect progressive
-
has been foolingperfect progressive
Past
-
fooledsimple
-
had fooledperfect
-
was foolingprogressive
-
were foolingprogressive
-
had been foolingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fool1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English fol, fool, from Old French fol, from Latin follis “bellows, bag”; cf. follis
Origin of fool2
First recorded in 1590–1600; probably special use of fool 1; cf. trifle ( def. ) (in the sense “a dessert consisting of custard and cake”
Explanation
In the Middle Ages, a fool was a clown or jester. Today, fools are simply silly people who clown around or lack common sense. The original fools were clowns hired by the king for entertainment. They were actually witty and smart, but today's fools are not. When you call someone a fool, you either mean he's gullible or just a run-of-the-mill idiot. To fool also means to play a trick or hoax on someone, and fooling around is carelessly spending time on something silly. If someone doesn't believe something you said, you might defend yourself by saying, "I'm not fooling!"
Vocabulary lists containing fool
April Vocabulary Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Sonnet 116"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
See Examples For:
To paraphrase the maxim falsely attributed to Lincoln, you can fool a whole bunch of the people for a hell of a long time, but you can’t fool all of them forever.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“We didn’t put together the greatest showing out there. But you’re a fool if you think that that’s what it’s going to look like every single week.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
As George W. Bush famously said, “Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice … won’t get fooled again.”
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
She missed a day of work, she was played for a fool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
She’d been hiding in there, as any fool could see.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
The boys are not masterminds; the victims are not fools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
She’s also widely known for her many devoted friendships, though she doesn’t suffer fools.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
"We are being made to look like fools," he added on X.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
That may have been outré to a middle and high-schooler trying to be cool, but at some point post-college, the Chili Peppers became synonymous with sweaty fools passing out in strip mall parking lots.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
It was hard to avoid going past, since it was off the only road going north of the village, but it was set back too far from the road for the fools to see.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
A difficult job market appeared to show improvement near the end of summer with a surprisingly big increase in employment, but don’t be fooled: Hiring in the U.S. is still unusually tepid.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Some outfielders could be fooled playing balls off the crack of the bat, but Pride got good jumps by watching the swing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The jury duty scam targeted David Schwind’s daughter, but initially fooled him, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
She told Bush: "You fooled a lot of people in Hull with your mild manner, when in fact you are a cruel conman. You use people's grief to fund your lifestyle."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“You could’ve fooled me. He has her power. He controls her weapon. He recognized me. He even answered all my test questions correctly! Our mother is back—which means we can be a family again.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
It’s a disguise “Obsession” wears so well that it’s fooling people into thinking this perfectly adequate film marks the arrival of a new horror classic.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Are we fooling ourselves to think our taxes matter to our moral responsibility?
From Slate ● May 11, 2026
“We can delude ourselves for a while that this is not a real cost, but we’re only fooling ourselves at the end of the day,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
She’s been fooling around on the drums and has had the idea to form a rock band to play at a local talent show, “for a laugh.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
“I didn’t even pay attention to the voice until they said the thing—the word. Before then I just thought it was someone fooling around; I’ve told you about the prank calls we get sometimes.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
