1
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
it's not polite to call your brother a stupid oaf
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of oaf
Hackman’s aggravation early on that directors didn’t seek out and exploit his comic and even improv talents was handled unforgettably in his portrayal of Superman villain Lex Luthor, a flamboyant oaf of Trumpian proportions.
—
Fred Schruers, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2025
As women have enjoyed more economic opportunities, they’re less often forced to marry some oaf who gets violent after a few drinks — and, anyway, what self-respecting woman with independent means would want to marry, say, a fan of Andrew Tate?
—Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for oaf
Fred Schruers, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2025
As women have enjoyed more economic opportunities, they’re less often forced to marry some oaf who gets violent after a few drinks — and, anyway, what self-respecting woman with independent means would want to marry, say, a fan of Andrew Tate?
—Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for oaf
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oaf
Noun
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There, beside the shiplike hulk of the Basilica of San Petronio—which is a work in progress, the foundation stone having been laid in 1390, and which somebody really should get around to finishing one of these days—was a vast white screen.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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Like the port-holes of a hulk, Human spiders spin and spin, Backward down their threads so thin Dropping, each a hempen bulk.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Only a moron would cut the funding of an industry that actually brings revenue into the government’s pocket.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2025
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Seth Rollins gassed Bron up by saying Jey Uso thinks his dad is a loser and his uncle is a moron.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Hochul did not want to back a loser, and with Mamdani winning, the Democrats locally and nationally need to show party unity, and that should have also figured into Jeffries's decision.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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He was fraudulently declared the loser and forced into exile by Maduro.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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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Women may also be less likely to feel a distinct lump during a breast self-exam, which can delay detection.—
Faye Chiu,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
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These include things like oats, coconut glycerin, and peanut butter in the lumps of coal biscuits, oats, peanut butter and bacon in the bac’n nutty biscuits, and chickpeas, tapioca flour and apples in the brushy sticks.—
Christine Persaud,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 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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The drunken louts who mocked and obscenely jeered the European Ryder Cup contenders at last weekend’s event at Bethpage Black golf course on Long Island would have loved it.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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Two dogs came into the living room to inspect the uproar, mutts from the reservation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
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That rescue mutt had been known for years as Everest, but enough of that.—
Jim Cramer,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oaf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oaf. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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