fool

fool

noun

Definition of FOOL

1

a person who lacks good sense or judgment <only a fool would attempt to climb that mountain unprepared>

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

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

2

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 jester, motley

Related Words buffoon, clown, comedian, comedienne, comic, cutup, droll, harlequin, joker, jokester, madcap, merry-andrew, vice, wag, zany; mime, mummer

3

a person with a strong and habitual liking for something <I'm a fool for ice cream—virtually any flavor>

Synonyms addict, aficionado (also afficionado), buff, bug, devotee, enthusiast, fanatic, fancier, fiend, fool, freak, habitué (also habitue), head, hound, junkie (also junky), lover, maniac, maven (also mavin), nut, sucker

Related Words groupie; admirer, amateur, collector, connoisseur, dilettante; authority, expert; adherent, convert, cultist, disciple, follower, hanger-on, votary; advocate, apostle, backer, champion, evangelist, exponent, friend, patron, promoter, proponent, supporter; partisan (also partizan), zealot; booster, rooter, well-wisher; faddist

Near Antonyms nonadmirer; belittler, carper, critic, detractor

Antonyms nonfan

4

a person judged to be legally or medically insane <he got out of serving in the army by successfully pretending to be a fool>

Synonyms bug, crackbrain, crazy, fool, fruitcake, head case, loon, loony, maniac, nut, nutcase, nutter [British slang], psycho, psychopath, sickie, sicko, wacko (also whacko)

Related Words madman, madwoman; abnormal, deviant; manic-depressive, monomaniac, mythomaniac, neurotic, obsessive, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, psychoneurotic, psychotic, schizo, schizoid, schizophrene, schizophrenic, sociopath; character, codger, crack, crackpot, crank, eccentric, fantastic (also fantastical), flake, kook, oddball, oddity, original, quiz, screwball, tyke (also tike) [chiefly British], weirdo, zany; case, patient