fool 1 of 3

Definition of foolnext
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as in clown
a person formerly kept in a royal or noble household to amuse with jests and pranks a king's fool could get away with saying things that others in the palace couldn't

Synonyms & Similar Words

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fool

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adjective

fool

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verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fool
Noun
Russell plays the fool wonderfully as Fairchild's suffering boyfriend, reacting to the increasingly bizarre events as most of us would, with incredulity and swearing, and there are some brilliant sight gags sprinkled throughout the film. Ian Stokes, Space.com, 12 June 2026 There is broad disagreement about whether SpaceX is fool’s gold with its sky-high valuation, or represents a valuable opportunity to finally own a piece of a dominant space company that could some day command the business of data centers in orbit. Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Verb
Don’t be fooled by its plentiful packing space; the Cuyana style is still (somehow) compact and easy to tuck under your seat or in an overhead compartment. Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 June 2026 If rankings produced by the very company at the top of the list seem unlikely to fool anyone, that’s because humans probably aren’t the target audience. Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool
Noun
  • The lunatics are running the asylum.
    Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
  • Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and other lunatics round out the cast.
    Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 June 2026
Noun
  • Hints at the canonical Big Daddies of existential clown float through the air — Beckett would recognize this pair, and so would Jean Genet.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 June 2026
  • The comments section is filled with college football fans from all over the country calling the university's athletic department a bunch of clowns and hypocrites, but one Big 12 rival, the TCU Horned Frogs, put out a statement of their own in response to Tech's video.
    Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2026
Noun
  • One- or 2-foot-long suckers will produce enough bait chunks for an entire day of fishing.
    Chad Mason, Outdoor Life, 3 June 2026
  • This revealed that the creature had short arms, few arm suckers, and no ink sac, as well as having very smooth skin and a large rachidian tooth.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 June 2026
Adjective
  • It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
  • If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.
    Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026
Verb
  • Subscriptions started at $88 per week and included almost 300 templates for fake websites designed to deceive customers, a dashboard that allowed criminals to monitor their campaigns, a discussion forum where users could find collaborators and receive support, and keylogging capabilities.
    Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 13 June 2026
  • No, your eyes do not deceive you.
    Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Verb
  • White joked that Cunningham, who missed last week’s win over the Chicago Sky, should have gotten the PRP shot sooner.
    James Boyd, New York Times, 17 June 2026
  • Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer remained confident in the turf at the stadium and joked how World Cup participants don’t get the full experience of the stadium without the glare.
    Cal Phillips June 17, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2026
Noun
  • Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.
    Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026
  • This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Colman Domingo wore a colorful custom Valentino look based on the house's harlequin motif.
    Hedy Phillips, PEOPLE, 5 May 2026
  • Common Pests and Diseases Broccoli plants can be damaged by common insect pests, like caterpillars, aphids, flea beetles, and harlequin bugs, says Minter.
    Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 28 Apr. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.

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