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The word tomfoolery owes a debt to one Thome Fole, but just who that Mr. Fole was is unclear. A court jester identified as Thome Fole was employed at Durham Abbey in the 14th century, but the record is unclear about whether Thome Fole was the given name of this particular performer, or if the name was applied as a generic moniker to jesters. Regardless, Thome Fole eventually evolved into tomfool, which was in use as a noun referring to any notable fool by the early 17th century, and as an adjective describing such fools by the mid-18th century. Tomfoolery as a term for playful or foolish behavior didn’t come into use until the early 19th century, but it’s proven to be of far more use to English speakers than tomfool.
Synonyms of tomfoolery
Examples of tomfoolery in a Sentence
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
This prevalence, however, has led to widespread quality-control tomfoolery.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 6 Nov. 2025
There was nothing particularly frightening about their Viennese waltz, which was a nice change from all the creepy tomfoolery earlier in the night.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
Rite of passage or midnight tomfoolery?
—Jake Allen, IndyStar, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tomfoolery
Cite this Entry
“Tomfoolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tomfoolery. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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tomfoolery
noun
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