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
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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
Ian Stokes, Space.com, 12 June 2026
There is broad disagreement about whether SpaceX is fool’s gold with its sky-high valuation, or represents a valuable opportunity to finally own a piece of a dominant space company that could some day command the business of data centers in orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 2026
One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fool
Noun
Russell plays the fool wonderfully as Fairchild's suffering boyfriend, reacting to the increasingly bizarre events as most of us would, with incredulity and swearing, and there are some brilliant sight gags sprinkled throughout the film.
—Ian Stokes, Space.com, 12 June 2026
There is broad disagreement about whether SpaceX is fool’s gold with its sky-high valuation, or represents a valuable opportunity to finally own a piece of a dominant space company that could some day command the business of data centers in orbit.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Verb
Speaking on Harvard Business School’s The Founder Mindset podcast, hosted by senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, the Shark Tank investor argued that anyone trying to balance a young company against the rest of their life is fooling themselves.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 2026
One is to emphasize Iago—the guileful, insinuating convincingness of this malicious supervillain, who works on Othello to the point where any reasonable man would be deceived and fooled and worked into a rage that can lead to such a catastrophe.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool
Noun
-
The lunatics are running the asylum.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
-
Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and other lunatics round out the cast.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
The island village is beset by sea hags, serial killers, creepy clowns and other evils that interfere with Tom’s dream of turning Widow’s Bay into a Martha’s Vineyard-like tourist destination.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
17 June 2026
-
Even the announcers are laughing at the clown Way to swing the bat.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Good choices include live sunfish, suckers, bullheads, carp, goldfish, and chubs.—
Keith Sutton,
Outdoor Life,
18 June 2026
-
Southerners are suckers for cities on the water, and the charming community of Stuart, Florida, is abundantly blessed on that front.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
The thing is, a lot of people have a talent for deceiving the public.—
Juan J. Arroyo,
Rolling Stone,
21 June 2026
-
Park and weather officials alike emphasize to Grand Canyon visitors that hiking conditions can be deceiving.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Verb
-
White joked that Cunningham, who missed last week’s win over the Chicago Sky, should have gotten the PRP shot sooner.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer remained confident in the turf at the stadium and joked how World Cup participants don’t get the full experience of the stadium without the glare.—
Cal Phillips
June 17,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
For the event, Kaling donned a strapless Elie Saab gown covered in crystal embroidery, which included a harlequin pattern and a sheer skirt.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
27 May 2026
-
Colman Domingo wore a colorful custom Valentino look based on the house's harlequin motif.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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