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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Ryan Byrnes, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
This isn’t some fool’s gold or a quest to look for positives.
—Sam McDowell October 7, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2025
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.
—Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fool
Noun
Recent years have seen thousands of Palestinian properties illegally seized, but the Khalidis would not be taken for fools.
—Ryan Byrnes, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
This isn’t some fool’s gold or a quest to look for positives.
—Sam McDowell October 7, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
Sure, the offense racked up yardage, but the Niners were fooled on critical plays on offense and were gashed on defense.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Only, Brown isn’t fooling himself.
—Janis Carr, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool
Noun
-
So that episode will make fun [of] billionaire life-extension body-hacking lunatics.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 2025
-
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
-
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
-
The girls are just as down to clown, coming up with funny drunk poses and faces.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In the decades that followed, Freeman, who died in 2025, assembled a vast array of literary fakes, collecting books whose content is deceiving in nature.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Experts have warned that such videos may go viral and deceive voters, potentially increasing voter distrust in the media and political system more generally.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra joked.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Season 3 found Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) in a friends-to-lovers arc with neighbor Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), who’d harbored a crush on him for years.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share