fool

1 of 3

noun

ˈfül

Synonyms of fool next

: a person lacking in judgment or prudence

Only a fool would ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet.

: a retainer (see retainer entry 1 sense 1) formerly kept in great households to provide casual entertainment and commonly dressed in motley with cap, bells, and bauble

: one who is victimized or made to appear foolish : dupe

History has made fools of many rash prophets.

: a harmlessly deranged person or one lacking in common powers of understanding

: one with a marked propensity or fondness for something

a dancing fool

a fool for candy

: a cold dessert of pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream or custard

fool

2 of 3

adjective

: foolish, silly

barking its fool head off

fool

3 of 3

verb

fooled; fooling; fools

intransitive verb

: to behave foolishly

told the children to stop their fooling

Example Sentences

Noun those fools who ride motorcycles without wearing helmets Only a fool would ask such a silly question. You'd be a fool to believe what he tells you. You're making yourself look like a fool. Adjective The dog was barking its fool head off. Some fool driver kept trying to pass me! Verb When she first told us that she was getting married, we thought she was fooling. His disguise didn't fool anybody. He really had me fooled. Stop fooling yourself—she doesn't really love you. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For a bright, serene space, pure white paint colors are a fool-proof choice. —

Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Feb. 2023 And if this fool was just mad or deranged, the gun kills just the same. —

Amy Goldstein, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023 Two deft new stand-up specials dig into stereotypes about the unintelligent, dust them off and renovate them for a new era, while a new mockumentary gets even bigger laughs through the stunt of placing a fool in a variety of intellectual arenas. —

Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023 One hopes that Stevens wasn’t fooled or swayed by the fool’s gold effort from some members of the bench thrust into higher-profile roles against Philadelphia. —

Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Feb. 2023 Here, his sublimely detailed and stylized physical performance—slow, stubborn, exasperated, agonizing—makes Clov into a bitter fool. —

Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2023 And as SpongeBob taught us, no girl ever wants to dance with a fool who went and ripped his pants. —

Brendan Morrow, The Week, 27 Jan. 2023 Any kind of lackadaisical approach or assumption that the brand will by osmosis stay in favor is a fool’s gambit. —

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023 Don’t let a relatively dry Wednesday morning fool you. —

oregonlive, 4 Jan. 2023

Verb

But don’t let that fool you, the compression provides effective sculpting around the midsection from the torso to just above the hip. —

Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 10 Mar. 2023 She’s also played Aldis Hodge’s mother in Tom Shadyac’s Brian Banks biopic – but don’t let that fool you. —

Breanna Bell, Variety, 7 Feb. 2023 Wednesday is forecast to be mostly sunny, but don't let that fool you. —

Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 31 Jan. 2023 But don’t let that fool you, Debbie and crew are still devoted to a gin mission above all else. —

Brad Japhe, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2022 This team has played plenty of close games during that stretch, but that don’t let that fool you. —

Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 23 Dec. 2022 The sleek black TUF Dash looks all business but don’t let that fool you as it's got serious gaming chops under the hood. —

Sascha Brodsky, Popular Mechanics, 7 Dec. 2022 The Ray comes in a compact frame, but don’t let that fool you. —

Brenda Stolyar Haley Sprankle, WIRED, 4 Dec. 2022 Portland’s early Monday morning weather is starting out fairly dry, but don’t let that fool you. —

oregonlive, 31 Oct. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fool.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Adjective, and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French fol, from Late Latin follis, from Latin, bellows, bag; akin to Old High German bolla blister, balg bag — more at belly

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1529, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of fool was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century