fool

¹fool

noun \ˈfül\

Definition of FOOL

1

: a person lacking in judgment or prudence

2

a : a retainer formerly kept in great households to provide casual entertainment and commonly dressed in motley with cap, bells, and bauble

b : one who is victimized or made to appear foolish : dupe

3

a : a harmlessly deranged person or one lacking in common powers of understanding

b : one with a marked propensity or fondness for something <a dancing fool> <a fool for candy>

4

: a cold dessert of pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream or custard

Examples of FOOL

1. those fools who ride motorcycles without wearing helmets
2. Only a fool would ask such a silly question.
3. You'd be a fool to believe what he tells you.
4. You're making yourself look like a fool.

Origin of FOOL

Middle English, from Anglo-French fol, from Late Latin follis, from Latin, bellows, bag; akin to Old High German bolla blister, balg bag — more at belly

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to FOOL

Synonyms

berk [British], booby, charlie (also charley) [British], cuckoo, ding-a-ling, dingbat, ding-dong, dipstick, doofus [slang], featherhead, git [British], goose, half-wit, jackass, lunatic, mooncalf, nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit [chiefly British], nitwit, nut, nutcase, simp, simpleton, turkey, yo-yo

Antonyms

nonfan

Related Words

daredevil; madman, madwoman; airhead, birdbrain, blockhead, cretin, dodo, dolt, donkey, dope, dork [slang], dumbbell, dummy, dunce, fathead, gander, goon, half-wit, idiot, ignoramus, imbecile, know-nothing, knucklehead, moron, numskull (or numbskull), pinhead, schlub (also shlub) [slang], schlump [slang], schnook [slang], stock; featherbrain, scatterbrain; butt, dupe, laughingstock, mockery, monkey; chump, loser, schlemiel (also shlemiel); character, codger, crackbrain, crackpot, crank, kook, oddball, screwball, weirdo

Near Antonyms

sage, thinker; brain, genius

Rhymes with FOOL

boule, boulle, cool, drool, fuel, ghoul, gul, mewl, mule, pool, Poole, pul, pule, rule, school, spool, stool, tool, tulle, yule

²fool

adjective

Definition of FOOL

: foolish, silly <barking its fool head off>

Examples of FOOL

1. The dog was barking its fool head off.
2. Some fool driver kept trying to pass me!

First Known Use of FOOL

13th century

Related to FOOL

Synonyms

absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, bubbleheaded, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, foolish, half-baked, harebrained, half-witted, inept, insane, jerky, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, lunkheaded, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, simpleminded, stupid, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), weak-minded, witless, zany

Antonyms

judicious, prudent, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, sound, wise

Related Words

airheaded, birdbrained, boobish, brain-dead, chowderheaded, chuckleheaded, clueless, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, feebleminded, gormless [chiefly British], idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), mindless, moronic, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thoughtless, thick, thickheaded, unintelligent, vacuous, witless; fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, nonrational, surd, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, weak; farcical, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous; notional; buffoonish, clownish; ill-advised, unconsidered, unreasoned

Near Antonyms

brainy, bright, clever, intelligent, smart; logical, rational, reasonable, valid; well-advised

³fool

verb

Definition of FOOL

intransitive verb

1

a : to behave foolishly <told the children to stop their fooling> —often used with around

b : to meddle, tamper, or experiment especially thoughtlessly or ignorantly <don't fool with that gun> —often used with around

2

a : to play or improvise a comic role

b : to speak in jest : joke <I was only fooling>

3

: to contend or fight without serious intent or with less than full strength : toy <a dangerous man to fool with>

transitive verb

1

: to make a fool of : deceive

2

obsolete : infatuate

3

: to spend on trifles or without advantage : fritter —used with away

Examples of FOOL

1. When she first told us that she was getting married, we thought she was fooling.
2. His disguise didn't fool anybody.
3. He really had me fooled.
4. Stop fooling yourself—she doesn't really love you.

First Known Use of FOOL

1593

Related to FOOL

Synonyms

bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, delude, dupe, fake out, deceive, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, sucker, suck in, take in, trick

Antonyms

undeceive

Related Words

kid, put on, tease; bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, flam, fleece, gyp, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle

Near Antonyms

debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask; disclose, divulge, tell, unveil; disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

fool

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Comic entertainer whose madness or imbecility, real or pretended, made him a source of amusement and gave him license to abuse and poke fun at even his most exalted patrons. Professional fools flourished in diverse societies from ancient Egyptian times until the 18th century. Often deformed, dwarfed, or crippled, fools were kept for luck as well as amusement, in the belief that deformity can avert the evil eye and that abusive raillery can transfer ill luck from the abused to the abuser. In some societies, they were regarded as inspired with poetic and prophetic powers. The greatest literary characterization of the fool is found in William Shakespeare's King Lear.

Variants of FOOL

fool or jester