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Synonyms

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.

See Examples For:

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

But not now; he was done with tomfool nights.

From The Place of Honeymoons by Arthur Ignatius Keller

Will you put that tomfool thing away, sir!

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

Arrangements were made to secure me two hours alone with the prisoner, so that nothing seemed to be wanting to this tomfool business.

From The Autobiography of a Quack and the Case of George Dedlow by S. Weir (Silas Weir) Mitchell

Then the father swore “he was not going to have his son make a tomfool of hisself to please that there parson.”

From The Carbonels by W. S. (Walter S.) Stacey

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