English Dictionary |
FOOL
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
IPA (US): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does fool mean?
• FOOL (noun)
The noun FOOL has 3 senses:
1. a person who lacks good judgment
2. a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
3. a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
Familiarity information: FOOL used as a noun is uncommon.
• FOOL (verb)
The verb FOOL has 4 senses:
2. spend frivolously and unwisely
Familiarity information: FOOL used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A person who lacks good judgment
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
fool; muggins; sap; saphead; tomfool
Hypernyms ("fool" is a kind of...):
simple; simpleton (a person lacking intelligence or common sense)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fool"):
ass (a pompous fool)
buffoon; clown (a rude or vulgar fool)
flibbertigibbet; foolish woman (a female fool)
fucker (a stupid despised man)
bozo; cuckoo; fathead; goof; goofball; goose; jackass; twat; zany (a man who is a stupid incompetent fool)
meshuggeneh; meshuggener ((Yiddish) a crazy fool)
morosoph (a learned fool)
putz ((Yiddish) a fool; an idiot)
wally (a silly and inept person; someone who is regarded as stupid)
Derivation:
fool (fool or hoax)
fool (make a fool or dupe of)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
chump; fall guy; fool; gull; mark; mug; patsy; soft touch; sucker
Hypernyms ("fool" is a kind of...):
dupe; victim (a person who is tricked or swindled)
Derivation:
fool (fool or hoax)
fool (make a fool or dupe of)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
fool; jester; motley fool
Hypernyms ("fool" is a kind of...):
buffoon; clown; goof; goofball; merry andrew (a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior)
Derivation:
fool (indulge in horseplay)
Conjugation: |
Past simple: fooled
Past participle: fooled
-ing form: fooling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make a fool or dupe of
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
Hypernyms (to "fool" is one way to...):
cozen; deceive; delude; lead on (be false to; be dishonest with)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
fool (a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of)
fool (a person who lacks good judgment)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Spend frivolously and unwisely
Classified under:
Verbs of eating and drinking
Synonyms:
dissipate; fool; fool away; fritter; fritter away; frivol away; shoot
Context example:
Fritter away one's inheritance
Hypernyms (to "fool" is one way to...):
consume; squander; ware; waste (spend extravagantly)
"Fool" entails doing...:
consume; deplete; eat; eat up; exhaust; run through; use up; wipe out (use up (resources or materials))
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Fool or hoax
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
befool; cod; dupe; fool; gull; put on; put one across; put one over; slang; take in
Context example:
You can't fool me!
Hypernyms (to "fool" is one way to...):
betray; deceive; lead astray (cause someone to believe an untruth)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fool"):
kid; pull the leg of (tell false information to for fun)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
fool (a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of)
fool (a person who lacks good judgment)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Indulge in horseplay
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
arse around; fool; fool around; horse around
Context example:
The bored children were fooling about
Hypernyms (to "fool" is one way to...):
jest; joke (tell a joke; speak humorously)
play (be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fool (a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages)
foolery (foolish or senseless behavior)
Context examples
You fools! cried he, what are you crying about?
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
I went there, I suppose, to make a fool of myself, and I am quite sure I did it.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
It was apparent that my conversation had interested the father in my behalf, and I was a fool in having exposed my person to the horror of his children.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
He speedily learned that Perrault and François were fair men, calm and impartial in administering justice, and too wise in the way of dogs to be fooled by dogs.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
I have fooled everyone so long that I thought I should never be found out.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
That doctor's a fool, I tell you.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
If you don't mind my expressin' my feelin's, Mr. Scott, I'll make free to say you're seventeen kinds of a damn fool an' all of 'em different, an' then some.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
I was a fool not to call you in at the time Mr. Holmes.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been!
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He was a fool to attempt to make a pretence that way.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Who stays under the tree, eats its fruits." (Albanian proverb)
"When the axe came to the forest, the trees said: "The handle is one of us."" (Armenian proverb)
"Who does well, meets goodwill." (Dutch proverb)