oaf

[ ohf ]

/ oʊf /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oaf ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a clumsy, stupid person; lout.

a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.

Archaic.

a deformed or mentally deficient child.
a changeling.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

o/a, o/c, o/s, o2o, oa, oaf, oahu, oak, oak apple, oak creek, oak fern

Origin of oaf

1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare

SYNONYMS FOR oaf

1 churl, boor.

2 dolt, ninny.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oaf ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

oaf·ish, adjectiveoaf·ish·ly, adverboaf·ish·ness, noun

Can be confused

oaf oath

Synonym study

1. See boorish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oafish

The political mutterings of oafish celebrities are best ignored.
Steven Seagal and the League of Hollywood Halfwits|Michael Moynihan|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was an appropriate response: violent oafs should be fired from their university jobs for violent, oafish behavior.
How 1960s Radicals Ended Up Teaching Your Kids|Michael Moynihan|April 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He looked like an oafish clod, even viewed objectively, and Forrester was making no efforts in that direction.
Pagan Passions|Gordon Randall Garrett
He was blaming himself bitterly now for his oafish clumsiness in blurting out the news so abruptly.
The Adventures of Sally|P. G. Wodehouse

Didn't he have enough self-control just to ignore Symes and his oafish insults?
Pagan Passions|Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for oafish

oaf

/ (əʊf) /

noun

a stupid or loutish person

Derived Forms

oafish, adjectiveoafishly, adverboafishness, noun

Word Origin for oaf

C17: variant of Old English ælf elf

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012