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

He leaned over to me, whispering, “These Jedi mind tricks only work on weak-minded fools.”

From Ozy

To pretend you knew better when others didn’t, to pretend this was not your fault, to pretend you were a holy messenger and everyone else was a fool was his very good definition of a sin.

From Outside Online

As brokers made their bets, some making a fortune, some making fools of themselves, others making their criminal defense cases, Cline and millions of other health care workers just prayed there would be enough supplies tomorrow.

From ProPublica

Bumping into a guy most known for “yappin’ fools,” I wasn’t gonna scare anybody looking like a bootleg Slick Rick, and on his newest cut, “Gotham,” Danzini isn’t letting anyone feel safe.

From Essence.com

Another one is fear of making a fool of oneself and looking stupid.

From Freakonomics

What they found was that most people preferred to work with the lovable fool rather than the competent jerk.

From The Daily Beast

You have to risk it, and be in danger of looking like an absolute fool.

From The Daily Beast

This might not fool a knowledgeable whiskey drinker, but how many of those desperate for Pappy are knowledgeable whiskey drinkers?

From The Daily Beast

My exact words were to allow ‘any fool in the world with Internet access’ to freely modify any page on the site.

From The Daily Beast

And also probably because this fool stopped at a red light in the middle of an intersection.

From The Daily Beast

The heat of drunkenness is the stumblingblock of the fool, lessening strength and causing wounds.

From Project Gutenberg

Y was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.

From Project Gutenberg

I am not fool enough to put my precious Naps in jeopardy, just when I am so deucedly in want of them, too.

From Project Gutenberg

David thought the farmer a fool, and rode on, admiring the blue sky uncheckered by a single cloud.

From Project Gutenberg

The crest-fallen astronomer plodded on his weary way, another example of a fool and his money soon parted.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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