fool
noun
a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.
had fooled
-
past perfectof fool.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
Elon Musk faced fiery questioning Wednesday in his court showdown with OpenAI, as he insisted that the maker of ChatGPT had fooled him by turning what was an altruistic pursuit into a profit-making juggernaut.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
When Mr. Shamji and Sharma realized that Zac had fooled them into believing he had access to millions, they turned on him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Late in life, Maggie Fox denounced the spiritualism movement that she and her sister Kate had helped start, demonstrating the ways in which they had fooled their audiences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
Speaking outside court, Mrs MacVicar said she was "totally bereft" at the fraud and that MacCallum had "fooled everybody."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2024
I had fooled myself into thinking that was something important to the rest of the world.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
