fool

Study(31)

UK /fuːl/ US /fʊu(l)/

noun 6verb 3name 2adj 1

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

awful, big, bloody

He felt like a big fool when he realized he'd been wearing his shirt inside out all day.

damned, great, silly, stupid

What a silly fool I was to believe that obvious lie.

absolute, complete, utter | poor | old | young

little

Don't be such a little fool and touch that hot stove without oven mitts.

court

The medieval king's court fool made everyone laugh with his silly jokes and tricks.

VERB + FOOL

feel (like)

When I showed up to the party on the wrong day, I felt like a complete fool.

look (like)

If you show up late to the meeting, you'll look like a fool in front of your boss.

act (like), behave like, play

If you keep acting like a fool in class, the teacher will give you detention.

suffer, tolerate

He won't tolerate fools in his workplace, so everyone takes their job seriously.

call sb

take sb for

Don't take me for a fool—I know exactly what you're planning to do.

be no/nobody's

PREP

like a ~

She acted like a fool when she jumped into the pool with all her clothes on.

~ of a sth

That fool of a waiter spilled coffee all over my new shirt yesterday.

PHRASES

make a fool (out) of sb/yourself

He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of his new coworkers.

more fool (sb)

If you believe that excuse, more fool you for trusting him again.

(verb.)

ADV

completely

easily

My little brother is easily fooled by magic tricks because he always looks at the wrong hand.

VERB + FOOL

can't/couldn't | try to

PREP

into

Sarah fooled her friends into believing she had won the lottery.

with

I tried to fool my brother with a fake spider, but he wasn't scared at all.

PHRASES

have sb fooled

He had everyone fooled into thinking he was actually a professional magician.

Definitions

noun

A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.

You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.

The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.

A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).

1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants This court fool could say bright things on occasion, but his main use to the ladies and lords of the palace was to serve as victim to practical jokes, cruel, coarse, and vulgar enough to be appreciated perhaps in the Bowery.

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.

Someone who has been made a fool of or tricked; dupe.

Such clouds of nameless trouble cross ⁠All night below the darken’d eyes; ⁠With morning wakes the will, and cries, ‘Thou shalt not be the fool of loss.’

Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.

Can they think me […] their fool or jester?

I'm a fool for the city.

verb

To trick; to deceive.

She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance.

There appears to be no process of gradually fooling oneself while degrading standards so characteristic of the Solid Rocket Booster or Space Shuttle Main Engine safety systems.

To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly.

1681/1682, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar Is this a time for fooling?

She's always complaining that she got stuck with the worst possible committee. And that me and Jimmy fool more than we work.

To make a fool of; to make act the fool.

They fool me to the top of my bent.

adj

Foolish.

Of all the fool, fruitless jobs, making anything of a creature that begins by deceiving her, is the foolest a sane woman ever undertook.

That was a fool thing to do. You could have gotten yourself shot

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of

noun — a person who lacks good judgment

noun — a professional clown employed to entertain a king or noblema

jester

verb — fool or hoax

verb — spend frivolously and unwisely

verb — make a fool or dupe of

gull
befool

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

flannelled fool

A cricketer (from the white flannel trousers they traditionally wear).

fool around

To engage in frivolous behaviour; to monkey around.

a fool and his money are soon parted

It is easy to obtain money from foolish people.

play the fool

To behave in a foolish or comical manner.

Back in school again, Maxwell plays the fool again Teacher gets annoyed

there's no fool like an old fool

If a person does not develop wisdom with age, then their foolishness is all the more obvious and shameful.

You're an old woman, Emily, and there's no fool like an old fool. The man's twenty years younger than you, and don't you fool yourself as to what he married you for. Money!

Example Bank

You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.

Wiktionary

The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.

Wiktionary

Erasmus, [...] saide wiselie that experience is the common scholehouse of foles, and ill men: Men of witte and honestie, be otherwise instructed.

Wiktionary

She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance.

Wiktionary

There appears to be no process of gradually fooling oneself while degrading standards so characteristic of the Solid Rocket Booster or Space Shuttle Main Engine safety systems.

Wiktionary

Liara: Do not be fooled by these civilized surroundings. This is a place of secrets and lies.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, fool is marked as derogatory, informal, archaic, historical. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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