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fool
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- pronunciation:
- ful
- parts of speech:
- noun, transitive verb, intransitive verb, adjective
- phrases:
- fool around, fool away, nobody's fool
- features:
- Word Combinations (noun, verb), Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
one who lacks good sense, judgment or comprehension, or who fails to display these qualities on a specific occasion.
You were a fool to invest your money in that get-rich-quick scheme.- synonyms:
- chump, dolt, half-wit, idiot, knucklehead, ninny, nitwit, numskull, simpleton, tomfool
- similar words:
- ass, blockhead, booby, dummy, dunce, dunderhead, ignoramus, imbecile, nincompoop, oaf, sap
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| definition 2: |
one who has been or is likely to be deceived, imposed upon, or made to look silly.
He's a fool who can't even see that his wife is being unfaithful to him.- synonyms:
- dupe, gull, sucker
- similar words:
- butt, gudgeon, half-wit, laughingstock, pigeon, sap, simpleton, sitting duck
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| definition 3: |
one employed to entertain by acting comically and foolishly, as formerly in royal or noble households; jester.
The king called for his fool.- synonyms:
- jester
- similar words:
- buffoon, clown, harlequin, merry-andrew
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| definition 4: |
one who has an unreasonable enthusiasm for some activity.
I'm a fool for any kind of sports.He's a working fool.- synonyms:
- fanatic
- similar words:
- buff, devotee, enthusiast, fan, votary
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| related words: |
comedian, dolt, dupe, half-wit, idiot, laugh, moron, target, zany |
adjective + (n.)fool
absolute,
arrogant,
blind,
bloody,
bumbling,
complete,
crazy,
damn,
damned,
darn,
doddering,
drunken,
holy,
ignorant,
incompetent,
lazy,
misguided,
motley,
naive,
noble,
pompous,
poor,
reckless,
romantic,
sentimental,
silly,
stubborn,
stupid,
suffering,
trusting,
utter,
well-meaning,
wise,
wretched
[See all][See only the most frequent]
verb + (n.)fool
act, behave, bumble, curse, damn, e-mail, grin, perish, pity, suffer
(n.)fool
+ verb
dare, hiss, hurl, mutter, risk, rush
noun + (n.)fool
bunch, clown, dancing, feast, foal, fossil, gooseberry, knave, madmen, mail, pyrite, queen, raspberry, saint, villain
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| phrase: |
nobody's fool |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
fools, fooling, fooled |
| definition 1: |
to dupe or deceive.
You're not fooling me with that excuse!The trick was carried out so well that it fooled everyone in the audience.- synonyms:
- deceive, dupe, hoodwink, kid, spoof, trick
- similar words:
- bamboozle, bluff, cheat, con, cozen, gull, hoax, mislead, mock, rogue, swindle
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| definition 2: |
to surprise or prove wrong.
I'd thought he was just an average kid, but he fooled me; he was really quite brilliant.- synonyms:
- surprise
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| related words: |
baffle, mystify, outwit, trip |
| phrase: |
fool away |
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| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| definition 1: |
to pretend, as to some unintended purpose or objective.
He threatened to jump off the ledge, but he was only fooling.- synonyms:
- fake, feign, make believe, pretend
- similar words:
- counterfeit, playact, sham
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| definition 2: |
to act without serious purpose or objective (usu. fol. by "around" or "about").
They were fooling around when they should have been working.- synonyms:
- lollygag, mess around
- similar words:
- dally, fiddle around, frolic, play, putter, trifle
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| definition 3: |
to handle something idly or carelessly (usu. fol. by "with").
He fooled with the gun and accidentally shot himself in the foot.- synonyms:
- meddle, mess, monkey, tamper
- similar words:
- toy, trifle
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| definition 4: |
to act or speak stupidly or in jest; play the fool; joke.
She was still angry at what he said even though he told her he'd just been fooling.It's hard to take him seriously when he's always fooling.- synonyms:
- jest, joke
- similar words:
- clown around, horse around, josh, kid
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| related words: |
clown, deceive, joke, lie, tamper |
adverb + (v.)fool
bloody, easily, enough, sure
(v.)fool
+ adverb
any, around, twice
(v.)fool
+ noun
appearance, bud, demon, idiot, magician, others, pitch, reverse, sensor, shame, trout
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| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition: |
(informal) lacking good sense; silly; foolish.
He got a fool notion to tease the rattlesnake.- synonyms:
- foolish, idiotic, silly
- similar words:
- asinine, brainless, crackbrained, senseless, stupid, unwise
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| phrase: |
fool around |
Fool comes from follis, a Latin word that means "bellows" or "leather bag." Later, it came to be used for an empty-headed person.
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