fool

¹

[ fool ]

noun

1. a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.

   Synonyms: sap, saphead, booby, nincompoop, ninny, dunderhead, ignoramus, numbskull, blockhead, dunce, dolt, simpleton

   Antonyms: genius

2. a professional jester, formerly kept by a person of royal or noble rank for amusement:

   the court fool.

   Synonyms: clown, zany

3. a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid:

   to make a fool of someone.

4. an ardent enthusiast who cannot resist an opportunity to indulge an enthusiasm:

   He's just a dancing fool.

5. a weak-minded or idiotic person.

verb (used with object)

1. to trick, deceive, or impose on:

   They tried to fool him.

   Synonyms: gudgeon, dupe, cozen, hoax, gull, cheat, hoodwink, delude

verb (used without object)

1. to act like a fool; joke; play.
2. to jest; pretend; make believe:

   I was only fooling.

verb phrase

1. to spend foolishly, as time or money; squander:

   to fool away the entire afternoon.

2. 1. to putter aimlessly; waste time:

      She fooled around all through school.

      I fooled around with painting for a bit, but never got anywhere with it.

   2. Also fool with. to handle or play with idly or carelessly:

      She was hurt while fooling around with a loaded gun.

      It's unkind to fool with someone's affections.

   3. to flirt or have casual sexual encounters:

      You should know better than to fool around with someone you work with.

      They're just fooling around–I don't think the relationship is going to go anywhere.

   4. to be sexually promiscuous, especially to engage in adultery:

      He's out fooling around while she's at home sick with the flu.

fool

²

[ fool ]

noun

, British Cooking.

1. a dish made of fruit, scalded or stewed, crushed and mixed with cream or the like:

   gooseberry fool.

fool

¹

/ fuːl /

noun

1. a dessert made from a purée of fruit with cream or custard

   gooseberry fool

fool

²

/ fuːl /

noun

1. a person who lacks sense or judgement
2. a person who is made to appear ridiculous
3. (formerly) a professional jester living in a royal or noble household
4. obsolete.
   an idiot or imbecile

   the village fool

5. form the fool
   to play the fool or behave irritatingly
6. no fool
   a wise or sensible person
7. play the fool or act the fool
   to deliberately act foolishly; indulge in buffoonery

verb

1. tr to deceive (someone), esp in order to make him or her look ridiculous
2. informal.
   intr; foll by with, around with, or about with to act or play (with) irresponsibly or aimlessly

   to fool around with a woman

3. intr to speak or act in a playful, teasing, or jesting manner
4. trfoll byaway to squander; fritter

   he fooled away a fortune

5. fool along
   to move or proceed in a leisurely way

adjective

1. informal.
   short for foolish

Other Words From

• un·fooled adjective
• un·fool·ing adjective
• well-fooled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fool¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English fol, fool, from Old French fol, from Latin follis “bellows, bag”; follis

Origin of fool²

First recorded in 1590–1600; probably special use of fool ¹; trifle ( def ) (in the sense “a dessert consisting of custard and cake”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fool¹

C16: perhaps from fool ¹

Origin of fool²

C13: from Old French fol mad person, from Late Latin follis empty-headed fellow, from Latin: bellows; related to Latin flāre to blow

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be nobody's fool, to be wise or shrewd.

More idioms and phrases containing fool

• make a fool of
• nobody's fool
• no fool like an old fool
• not suffer fools gladly
• play the fool
• take for (a fool)
• foolish

Example Sentences

Players were in a dorm room fooling around with a gun.

From Los Angeles Times

“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.”

From Salon

Republicans who think they're safe because they play along are fooling themselves.

From Salon

It's a direct substitution of fool's gold for the real thing.

From Salon

Though he did not specify to the Times whether Simon’s gripe was with his scathing 2015 comments, Garfunkel admitted to the Times, “I was a fool.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ass
• boob
• buffoon
• idiot
• jerk
• moron
• nitwit
• stooge
• sucker
• twit