1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
only a fool would attempt to climb that mountain unprepared
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
3
as in sucker
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something
I'm a fool for ice cream
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
he's always got some fool plan or other
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
I fooled him into thinking that we were driving to the store, not to his surprise birthday party
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fool
Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
None of this is meant to suggest that a trade is imminent, but if offered the chance to trade these three players for Peralta, the Yankees would be fools not to take it.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2025
Short yardage Patrick Mahomes fooled the Raiders into a fourth-down conversion.
—Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fool
Noun
But, well, the man was clearly a fool.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
None of this is meant to suggest that a trade is imminent, but if offered the chance to trade these three players for Peralta, the Yankees would be fools not to take it.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
Sophomore wide receiver Cam Bates scored on a 35-yard end-around run in the first quarter, with the misdirection fooling the defense.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2025
Short yardage Patrick Mahomes fooled the Raiders into a fourth-down conversion.
—Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool
Noun
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So that episode will make fun [of] billionaire life-extension body-hacking lunatics.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 2025
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Whether those people are sickened by grief and rage into a kind of temporary insanity, genuine lunatics, hustlers looking to milk a little more engagement or some combination of the three doesn’t really matter.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Former Des Plaines officer Mike Albrecht recalled to NBC Chicago that when police were assigned to surveil Gacy after Piest's disappearance, the part-time clown would try to pal around with officers and invite them into his house.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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The girls are just as down to clown, coming up with funny drunk poses and faces.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Remove any shoots and suckers that appear on the trunk or near the roots, and get rid of crossing or dead branches.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Fresno was the right sparring partner at the wrong time, a sucker that rolled into Canvas three weeks too late.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Misiorowski had made Edman look foolish in their first matchup, getting the infielder to swing through a wicked curveball.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Despite being deceived, Stone, who dated Garfield for four years, conceded that the actor's dedication to the secret was honorable.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
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That’s 14 years of dreaming, dissolving, romanticizing, escaping, and sometimes deceiving ourselves.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Egan, who was nominated for her role as Chelsea Lawson in The Young and the Restless, which she's played since 2011, joked about her chances to win this year in an Instagram post following the nominations.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra joked.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Learn more about management options and which food plants are most susceptible to this insect in our harlequin bug on vegetables web page.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Apr. 2025
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Pity the poor actor who has to co-star opposite a 150-pound harlequin Great Dane.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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More than 50 cats were submitted for The Star’s cutest cat contest, from tortoiseshells to Birman cats and everything in between — and your submissions have definitely stolen the hearts of the cat lovers in our newsroom.—
Eden Dinneen,
Kansas City Star,
20 Oct. 2025
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Fried chicken lovers visiting a Popeyes drive-thru in Florida were unwittingly paying a prison inmate’s commissary fees, according to investigators.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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