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fool
1[ fool ]
noun
- 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 (usually preceded by a present participle):
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
- to handle or play with idly or carelessly:
to be hurt while fooling with a loaded gun; to fool with someone's affections.
- to spend foolishly, as time or money; squander:
to fool away the entire afternoon.
- to putter aimlessly; waste time:
She fooled around all through school.
- to philander or flirt.
- to be sexually promiscuous, especially to engage in adultery.
fool
2[ fool ]
noun
- a dish made of fruit, scalded or stewed, crushed and mixed with cream or the like:
gooseberry fool.
fool
1/ fuːl /
noun
- a dessert made from a purée of fruit with cream or custard
gooseberry fool
fool
2/ fuːl /
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
- form the foolto play the fool or behave irritatingly
- no foola wise or sensible person
- play the fool or act the foolto 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
- trfoll byaway to squander; fritter
he fooled away a fortune
- fool alongto move or proceed in a leisurely way
adjective
- informal.short for foolish
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Other Words From
- un·fooled adjective
- un·fooling adjective
- well-fooled adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of fool1
Origin of fool2
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Word History and Origins
Origin of fool1
Origin of fool2
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Idioms and Phrases
- be nobody's fool, to be wise or shrewd.
More idioms and phrases containing fool
- make a fool of
- nobody's fool
- no fool like an old fool
- not suffer fools gladly
- play the fool
- take for (a fool)
- foolish
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Example Sentences
What they found was that most people preferred to work with the lovable fool rather than the competent jerk.
You have to risk it, and be in danger of looking like an absolute fool.
This might not fool a knowledgeable whiskey drinker, but how many of those desperate for Pappy are knowledgeable whiskey drinkers?
My exact words were to allow ‘any fool in the world with Internet access’ to freely modify any page on the site.
And also probably because this fool stopped at a red light in the middle of an intersection.
The heat of drunkenness is the stumblingblock of the fool, lessening strength and causing wounds.
Y was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.
I am not fool enough to put my precious Naps in jeopardy, just when I am so deucedly in want of them, too.
David thought the farmer a fool, and rode on, admiring the blue sky uncheckered by a single cloud.
The crest-fallen astronomer plodded on his weary way, another example of a fool and his money soon parted.
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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.
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