oaf

[ ohf ]

noun

1. a clumsy, stupid person; lout.

   Synonyms: boor, churl

2. a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.

   Synonyms: ninny, dolt

3. Archaic.
   1. a deformed or mentally deficient child.
   2. a changeling.

oaf

/ əʊf /

noun

1. a stupid or loutish person

Derived Forms

• ˈoafishness, noun
• ˈoafishly, adverb
• ˈoafish, adjective

Other Words From

• oafish adjective
• oafish·ly adverb
• oafish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of oaf¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of oaf¹

C17: variant of Old English ælf elf

Synonym Study

See boorish ( def ).

Example Sentences

The story that emerged was one of Bankman-Fried not as an oaf who made mistakes but as a mastermind who manipulated a whole scheme to defraud lots of people out of lots of money.

From Slate

“What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province,” Locsin, a journalist, Harvard-educated lawyer and politician, said in a separate May 2021 tweet.

From Seattle Times

The daughter is married to a bumbling oaf, whom she bullies with real glee.

From New York Times

The venture left Stanford one of the world’s wealthiest men, though not, Harris suggests, by his own merit, especially “given the amount of financial chicanery going on” and his reputation as a “big oaf.”

From Washington Post

But neither should you behave like an oaf.

From Washington Post