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)
verb (used without object)
-
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
- unfooled adjective
- unfooling adjective
- well-fooled adjective
Etymology
Origin of fool1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English fol, fool, from Old French fol, from Latin follis “bellows, bag”; follis
Origin of fool2
First recorded in 1590–1600; probably special use of fool 1; trifle ( def. ) (in the sense “a dessert consisting of custard and cake”
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.
I’m kidding around, of course, but wouldn’t it be nice if the people who controlled such a large share of the cinema we watch had to make fools of themselves for our viewing pleasure?
From Salon
"Our intentions have always been clear for years and that is to establish an independent state, we haven't tried to fool anyone," he said.
From BBC
Predicting when a bubble is finally about to burst could be a fool’s errand.
From Barron's
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. put it simply in 1961, another era when it seemed America would split into pieces: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
From Los Angeles Times
If shoppers get fooled by a counterfeit Rolex, it can dent the company’s image.
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.
