English Explanatory Dictionary

fool

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
  2. A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
  3. A stock character typified by unintelligence, naïveté or lucklessness, usually as a form of comic relief; often used as a source of insight or pathos for the audience, as such characters are generally less bound by social expectations.
  4. Someone who has been made a fool of or tricked; dupe.
  5. Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
  6. An informal greeting akin to buddy, dude, or man.
  7. A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.
  8. A tankie.
verb
  1. To trick; to deceive.
  2. To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly.
  3. To make a fool of; to make act the fool.
adj
  1. Foolish.
noun
  1. A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of fool (“a particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester”).

Pronunciation

/fuːl/ /fʉl/ /fʊu(l)/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-fool.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Nattes à chat-fool.wav

Word forms

fool fools fooling fooled fooler more fool foolest most fool

Etymology

From Middle English fol (“fool”), from Old French fol (cf. modern French fou (“mad”)) from Latin follis. Doublet of fals and follis. Displaced native Old English dwæs.

Synonyms

alcatote asshat arsehole asshole bayard berk birdbrain blither bobchin bonehead bozo buffoon brickhead Charlie chucklehead chowderhead chump clart clown der-brain dill pickle dim bulb dimwit dingleberry dipshit dipstick dirtbrain div divvo divvy dolt donk doodle doofus dope dork dote dotterel dullard dumbass dumbbell dumbo dumb fuck dummy dunce dunderhead fathead fenderhead fiddle fuckwit fuzznut geck gig gink goober gooseberry gowk gubbins gump ha'p'orth

Antonyms

sage

Related words

glaik halfwit idiot retarded foolish insane jester

Derived words

act a fool act the fool a fool and his money are soon parted April-fool April fool April Fools' Day archfool audiophool cut the fool damnfool fat as a fool flannelled fool fool away fooldom foolery fooless foolfish fool for Christ fool-hearted fool-heartedly fool-heartedness foolhood foolify fooligan foolish fool killer foollike foolocracy foolometer foolosophy foolproof fool rack fool-saint fool's cap fool's crutch fool's errand fool's fool fool's gold foolship fool's mushroom foolsome fool's paradise fool to oneself fossil fool greater fool theory holy fool jack-fool Lord Mayor's fool make a fool of make a fool out of motley fool natural fool nobody's fool no one's fool play for a fool play the fool suffer fools gladly superfool tavern fool there's no fool like an old fool

Translations

Bulgarian: кисел Finnish: hedelmärahka Finnish: marjarahka German: Mus Hungarian: gyümölcskrém Hungarian: gyümölcsfelfújt Swedish: kräm
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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