1
as in lunatics
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 clowns
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 suckers
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something
I'm a fool for ice cream
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in maniacs
a person having or showing a severely disordered or abnormal state of mind
he got out of serving in the army by successfully pretending to be a fool
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in tricks
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 jokes
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fools
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
Both James Cameron and Apple Studios have made fools of those who have discounted them, but the blockbuster director has just done so more often.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 14 Jan. 2026
So our founder goes to the next best thing – friends, families and fools.
—Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
The fools of twenty-first-century Western imperialism possessed little of the historical literacy, let alone the moral sophistication, of Arendt, Weil, and Camus.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
The mind wants desperately to connect with a person—and fools itself into seeing one in a machine.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 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
Sabonis and Zach LaVine are fringe All-Stars most seasons, Keegan Murray is a solid wing starter who shoots and defends, DeRozan can still get midrange buckets and shot-fake fools into heaps of fouls, and Malik Monk is electric in a sixth-man role.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The result is just old-fashioned cinematic fools’ gold, in which sensationalistic blather poses as social commentary.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
Sadly, OpenAI plays us for fools.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026
Both James Cameron and Apple Studios have made fools of those who have discounted them, but the blockbuster director has just done so more often.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 14 Jan. 2026
So our founder goes to the next best thing – friends, families and fools.
—Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
The fools of twenty-first-century Western imperialism possessed little of the historical literacy, let alone the moral sophistication, of Arendt, Weil, and Camus.
—Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
The mind wants desperately to connect with a person—and fools itself into seeing one in a machine.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 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
Sabonis and Zach LaVine are fringe All-Stars most seasons, Keegan Murray is a solid wing starter who shoots and defends, DeRozan can still get midrange buckets and shot-fake fools into heaps of fouls, and Malik Monk is electric in a sixth-man role.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The result is just old-fashioned cinematic fools’ gold, in which sensationalistic blather poses as social commentary.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fools
Noun
-
Beating these lunatics was incredible, right?—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Shame on the leadership of Minnesota — and the lunatics in the street.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Deep cherry red, black, and white come together to create a whimsical world of dice, cards, sad clowns, and a ticking pocketwatch.—
Samantha Brash,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
-
These clowns don't even have the courage of their pathetic White supremacist convictions.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To remove the suckers growing at the base of some viburnum species, cut them back at ground level.—
Luke Miller,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Feb. 2026
-
For a coach who thinks running the ball is for squares and suckers, that’s not exactly adapting one’s philosophy to fit your personnel.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Haunted Trail takes visitors outdoors through a path with dense fog and several haunting installations with zombies, a ghoul bus, a graveyard filled with ghosts, chainsaw maniacs and more.—
Ut Community Press,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
One of the dangers of the Midwestern climate is a late-winter warm spell that thaws the soil and tricks bulbs and other plants into sprouting too early.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
-
This tricks incoming missiles into targeting the decoy instead of the actual jet.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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When Bad Bunny began the halftime show by carrying a football around his detailed Levi’s Stadium set, jokes that the artist had accumulated more yards than the Patriots flooded social media.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
One member of staff jokes that upon seeing Ho, there is a sudden impulse to salute, not out of fear, but out of sheer pride in the project.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Mediterranean diet has nuts, beans and fish as primary sources of protein, and MyPlate focuses on lean meats as well.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Avoid allergens While most multivitamin companies avoid using common allergens like soy, nuts and dairy, some share production facilities.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Each year, millions of dog lovers tune in to the Puppy Bowl as a way to pregame the actual Super Bowl taking place that same Sunday, played by human athletes without tails.—
Stacia Datskovska,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Feb. 2026
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The symphony, conducted by its music director Carolyn Kuan, is playing a ballet score by Prokofiev inspired by Shakespeare’s immortal drama about two young lovers from feuding families at the Belding Theater at The Bushnell, located at 166 Capitol Ave.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fools.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fools. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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