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tomfool

American  
[tom-fool] / ˈtɒmˈful /

noun

  1. a grossly foolish or stupid person; a silly fool.


adjective

  1. being or characteristic of a tomfool.

tomfool British  
/ ˌtɒmˈfuːl /

noun

    1. a fool

    2. ( as modifier )

      tomfool ideas

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of tomfool

1325–75; Middle English Thome fole Tom the fool

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.

Their own father, an amiable giant nearly seven foot tall, lacked the drive and ambition of his sons, and he refused to support this tomfool idea.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

A scamp and a scalawag and a tomfool, though, if you want to know.

From Man to Man by Gregory, Jackson

"Chief among them, why your tomfool brother—you call him your brother, I suppose?—brought me over here on a fool's errand."

From The Knave of Diamonds by Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May)

O, that’s a different story!—What made you do it, you tomfool?

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Will you put that tomfool thing away, sir!

From Sappers and Miners The Flood beneath the Sea by Hurst, Hal

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