fool

noun \ ˈfül \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Definition of fool

1 : a person lacking in judgment or prudence

Only a fool would ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet.

2 a : a retainer (see ¹retainer 1) 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

History has made fools of many rash prophets.

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

See fool defined for English-language learners

See fool defined for kids

Examples of fool in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of fool from the Web

Chesnot—Getty Images Predicting the future direction of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has often proved to be a fool’s errand.

— kevin kelleher, Fortune, "Bitcoin Futures Killed the Bitcoin Rally (and Will Keep It from Returning), Economists Say," 2 July 2018
But what if trying to re-decentralise the internet is a fool’s errand?

— The Economist, "Raiders of the killer dappBlockchain technology may offer a way to re-decentralise the internet," 28 June 2018
With his long parade of fools, Shakespeare achieves the comedy equivalent of a problem play.

— hugh hunter, Philly.com, "Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's 'Twelfth Night': A hilarious tragedy on human frailty," 24 June 2018
Like all seemingly fool-proof solutions, the jungle primary has produced unanticipated problems -- especially for Democrats in 2018.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Today is the most important day of 2018 so far for Democrats' chances in the House," 5 June 2018
As for recent revelations about a search for fool-proof suffocation on the family computer, Cindy Anthony says someone else — other than Casey — was in the house.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Casey Anthony's Parents Speak': Pain on display," 27 May 2018
DJ Melyssa Ryan, quick-witted and doll-faced, rules the room with a ringing voice, and suffers no fools.

— claudette bakhtiar, charlotteobserver, "Are these the five best karaoke singers in Charlotte? | Charlotte Observer," 3 Apr. 2018
He was ignored on almost every major issue by the incredible cast of fools and mountebanks with whom the president* has surrounded himself.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "The Rex Tillerson Story Is Full of Holes," 13 Mar. 2018
Given that Trump dropped another $3 million last year on a 25-carat ring for Melania, what kind of fool does that make him now?

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "Donald Trump Lied About How Much Money He Paid for Melania’s Engagement Ring," 8 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fool.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

fool Synonyms

fool

adjective

Definition of fool

: foolish, silly

barking its fool head off

See fool defined for English-language learners

Examples of fool in a Sentence

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

Origin and Etymology of fool

see ¹fool

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

fool Synonyms

Synonyms

absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, fatuous, featherheaded, foolish, half-baked, half-witted, harebrained, 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;

Near Antonyms

brainy, bright, clever, intelligent, smart;

logical, rational, reasonable, valid;

well-advised;

fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, weak;

farcical, laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous;

notional;

buffoonish, clownish;

ill-advised, unconsidered, unreasoned;

Phrases

out to lunch;

fool

verb

Definition of fool

fooled; fooling; fools

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

See fool defined for English-language learners

Examples of fool in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of fool from the Web

But don’t be fooled by size—these microscopic, single-cell organisms are surprisingly hardy and exceedingly destructive.

— kim steutermann rogers, Smithsonian, "How the Tiniest of Parasites is Taking Down the Mightiest of Monk Seals," 9 July 2018
As the title of Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s best seller has it, we’re fooled by randomness.

— felix salmon, WIRED, "Welcome To The Highly Probable World of Improbability," 5 July 2018
He is routinely fooled by disguised coverages and has a hard time reading a defense from the pocket.

— steven ruiz, For The Win, "Every NFL starting quarterback's biggest weakness," 27 June 2018
Because the trailer is that good (but I’ve been fooled before).

— anne dunlap, OrlandoSentinel.com, "2018 movies: The favorites, the forgettable and the upcoming," 26 June 2018
You’re being duped; you’re being fooled; the world is laughing at us.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: As alcoholism fells another congressman, a reminder that no one is immune to addiction," 29 May 2018
She was fooled into giving banking information to the scammer, who said there was a virus in her computer.

— jane ford-stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "West Allis woman, 65, loses $2,000 to online scammer who said there was a virus on her computer," 21 May 2018
Which means that in Facebook’s battle against fake news, one line of defense includes the people who were fooled by fake news in the first place.

— karla peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Why Facebook's new features aren't the upgrade we need," 2 May 2018
Repeat on the right side. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this exercise!

— NBC News, "5 simple exercises for stronger, tighter glutes," 2 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of fool

see ¹fool

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1593

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

fool Synonyms

Synonyms

bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, gaff, gull, have, hoax, hoodwink, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snow, spoof, string along, take in, trick;

Antonyms

undeceive;

Near Antonyms

debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask;

disclose, divulge, tell, unveil;

disabuse, disenchant, disillusion;

Related Words

kid, put on, tease;

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

Phrases

do a number on, lead one down the garden path (also lead one up the garden path), pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes;

FOOL Defined for English Language Learners

fool

noun

Definition of fool for English Language Learners

: a person who lacks good sense or judgment : a stupid or silly person
: a person who enjoys something very much
: a dessert made with cooked fruit and cream or a thick sauce

fool

verb

Definition of fool for English Language Learners

: to speak or act in a way that is not serious
: to make (someone) believe something that is not true : to trick (someone)

FOOL Defined for Kids

fool

noun \ ˈfül \

Definition of fool for Students

1 : a person without good sense or judgment

2 : jester

History for fool

In Latin the word follis meant “bag” or (in the plural form folles) “bellows.” In the late stage of Latin that developed into French, follis also took on the meaning “person without sense,” whose head seemed, like a bag or bellows, to be full of nothing but air. Follis became Old French fol, which was borrowed into English as fol, later spelled fool.