1
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
it's not polite to call your brother a stupid oaf
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person
anyone who took him for an oaf and tried to cheat him would be in for a nasty surprise
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Recent Examples of oaf
However, the main resident of the island where the adventure takes place is — surprise, surprise — the large and lethargic blueish oaf known as Snorlax.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 7 July 2023
Curry in particular is well known for portraying villains (It, Ferngully, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but doesn't always strike the right balance as the loveable patriarchal oaf.
—Lee Escobedo, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2022
Adding Paul into the mix as a bumbling oaf (and not even a particularly lovable one) creates an unnecessary love triangle.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2022
Jeremy Allen White stars as a famous chef who returns to Chicago to take over his late brother’s beef joint, and he and his new co-workers — including Ayo Edebiri’s newcomer and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s stubborn oaf — form a system that, usually, works.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for oaf
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 7 July 2023
Curry in particular is well known for portraying villains (It, Ferngully, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but doesn't always strike the right balance as the loveable patriarchal oaf.
—Lee Escobedo, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2022
Adding Paul into the mix as a bumbling oaf (and not even a particularly lovable one) creates an unnecessary love triangle.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2022
Jeremy Allen White stars as a famous chef who returns to Chicago to take over his late brother’s beef joint, and he and his new co-workers — including Ayo Edebiri’s newcomer and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s stubborn oaf — form a system that, usually, works.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for oaf
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oaf
Noun
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Like the ghostly hulk of the Titanic below the surface of the sea, Northbrook Court is a quiet and cavernous relic — at the bottom of the retail food chain.—
David Petitti,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
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The first night, the characters are menaced by a bald hulk in overalls, wearing a clown mask with the mouth area (including his teeth) smashed in.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The winners of the Round of 16 games advance to the quarterfinals, while the losers move on to the classification games for places 9-16.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
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Playing a likable but selfish loser, Zahn has never been better; and the boyish, charming Walker freaks out like nobody’s business; the film’s greatest asset is the fraternal chemistry between these two.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
Noun
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So, the parallel thing that I’ve been frustrated by recently is not just calling Trump stupid, but calling Trump voters stupid.—
Drew Broussard
May 22,
Literary Hub,
22 May 2025
-
Sometimes too stupid is actually smartski but sometimes is just stupid stupid.—
Caroline Downey,
National Review,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Order the jumbo lump or save a few bucks and opt for the equally tasty backfin version.—
Christina Tkacik,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 June 2025
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In a fifty-eight-year-old survivor of breast cancer with a strong family history of the disease, a new lump near the original site likely signals recurrence—intervention is warranted.—
Siddhartha Mukherjee,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Noun
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As Ray Winstone might say, what a prat.—
Holman W. Jenkins,
WSJ,
29 Mar. 2022
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Through it all, however, the gal has retained a sort of grand hauteur, even while prat-falling into a bush.—
Lester Fabian Brathwaite,
EW.com,
24 Mar. 2022
Noun
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There’s at least one major shoe that could drop — why devote an entire episode to the Gemstone origin story if that gold Bible isn’t going to pay off somehow? — but The Righteous Gemstones loves these grotesque, dysfunctional louts.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
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And when someone does cross the line, like the louts who doused cops in Harlem and Brownsville with water in 2019, most officers have shown remarkable restraint.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2024
Noun
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The toilet does the heavy work automatically with an electromechanical system, so all the owner of said waste has to do is grab the sealed, odorless bag and drop it in the garbage, much like a mutt mitt.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 May 2025
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Remember when this series started, the Nuggets were heavy underdogs, viewed as mutts.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 May 2025
Noun
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Two of the game’s most brilliant villains have matured into eloquent eulogists.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
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For an industry which has long been treated by the television and film industries as a dirty, dangerous business run by unethical, cartoon-ish villains like J.R. Ewing, such a balanced portrayal is a welcome change, indeed.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oaf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oaf. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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