fool
1 Americannoun
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a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.
- Synonyms:
- sap, saphead, booby, nincompoop, ninny, dunderhead, ignoramus, numbskull, blockhead, dunce, dolt, simpleton
- Antonyms:
- genius
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a professional jester, formerly kept by a person of royal or noble rank for amusement.
the court fool.
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a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid.
to make a fool of someone.
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an ardent enthusiast who cannot resist an opportunity to indulge an enthusiasm.
He's just a dancing fool.
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a weak-minded or idiotic person.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to act like a fool; joke; play.
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to jest; pretend; make believe.
I was only fooling.
verb phrase
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fool away to spend foolishly, as time or money; squander.
to fool away the entire afternoon.
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fool around (with)
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to putter aimlessly; waste time.
She fooled around all through school.
I fooled around with painting for a bit, but never got anywhere with it.
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Also fool with to handle or play with idly or carelessly.
She was hurt while fooling around with a loaded gun.
It's unkind to fool with someone's affections.
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to flirt or have casual sexual encounters.
You should know better than to fool around with someone you work with.
They're just fooling around–I don't think the relationship is going to go anywhere.
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to be sexually promiscuous, especially to engage in adultery.
He's out fooling around while she's at home sick with the flu.
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idioms
noun
noun
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a person who lacks sense or judgement
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a person who is made to appear ridiculous
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(formerly) a professional jester living in a royal or noble household
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obsolete an idiot or imbecile
the village fool
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to play the fool or behave irritatingly
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a wise or sensible person
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to deliberately act foolishly; indulge in buffoonery
verb
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(tr) to deceive (someone), esp in order to make him or her look ridiculous
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informal (intr; foll by with, around with, or about with) to act or play (with) irresponsibly or aimlessly
to fool around with a woman
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(intr) to speak or act in a playful, teasing, or jesting manner
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to squander; fritter
he fooled away a fortune
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to move or proceed in a leisurely way
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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foolsimple
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foolssimple
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have fooledperfect
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has fooledperfect
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am foolingprogressive
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are foolingprogressive
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is foolingprogressive
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have been foolingperfect progressive
-
has been foolingperfect progressive
Past
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fooledsimple
-
had fooledperfect
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was foolingprogressive
-
were foolingprogressive
-
had been foolingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fool1
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English fol, fool, from Old French fol, from Latin follis “bellows, bag”; cf. follis
Origin of fool2
First recorded in 1590–1600; probably special use of fool 1; cf. trifle ( def. ) (in the sense “a dessert consisting of custard and cake”
Explanation
In the Middle Ages, a fool was a clown or jester. Today, fools are simply silly people who clown around or lack common sense. The original fools were clowns hired by the king for entertainment. They were actually witty and smart, but today's fools are not. When you call someone a fool, you either mean he's gullible or just a run-of-the-mill idiot. To fool also means to play a trick or hoax on someone, and fooling around is carelessly spending time on something silly. If someone doesn't believe something you said, you might defend yourself by saying, "I'm not fooling!"
Vocabulary lists containing fool
April Vocabulary Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
People thought only a fool would buy that.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Shant said Thompson had made a "concerted attempt to conceal" what he had done, and "set about creating a false scene to fool the police".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
She’s not giving up her bridal dreams, but she’s absolutely done being played for a fool.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
But woe befall any bad guys who mistake him for a fool.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
What kind of fool was she, to think that it would be any different?
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
One AI lab insider sniffed: “We would be fools reacting to Karpian theatrics; he does well talking his own book.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
That may have been outré to a middle and high-schooler trying to be cool, but at some point post-college, the Chili Peppers became synonymous with sweaty fools passing out in strip mall parking lots.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
“Tony doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and he won’t play along with the kind of thing where you hang out with the right industry people,” says Hues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
Such reasoning can become textbook Greater Fool Theory — investors paying foolish prices with the expectation that greater fools than they will pay even higher prices.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
“That Elias Hasket Derby! Of all the stubborn fools that ever...I wouldn’t command the Henry if he gave her to me!”
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
She told Bush: "You fooled a lot of people in Hull with your mild manner, when in fact you are a cruel conman. You use people's grief to fund your lifestyle."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Don’t be fooled by its breezy ’60s-analog vintage pop sound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
With the right tactics, AI agents can be easily fooled, said Raj Rajamani, co-founder and chief executive of JetStream Security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Dan Loeb, the hedge-fund veteran famed for boardroom fights and valuing investing, admits Sam Bankman-Fried fooled him.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
I can’t swear that I fooled the crabs, but our catches were good that summer.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
It’s a disguise “Obsession” wears so well that it’s fooling people into thinking this perfectly adequate film marks the arrival of a new horror classic.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Are we fooling ourselves to think our taxes matter to our moral responsibility?
From Slate ● May 11, 2026
He often moves his body in a way that looks like he is going to pass to one team-mate, before passing it to the spare man after fooling the defenders.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026
“I didn’t even pay attention to the voice until they said the thing—the word. Before then I just thought it was someone fooling around; I’ve told you about the prank calls we get sometimes.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
