fool

Pluralfools

Formsfools, fooling, fooled

1. 1
   idiotnouncountable

   Someone lacking in sense or intelligence, or prone to bad judgment.

   Any fool could see the plan was doomed from the start.

   He called himself a fool for trusting the salesman's promises.

   UsageCommon phrases: make a fool of yourself, feel like a fool, any fool could see, only a fool would.

   Similaridiot, dunce, simpleton, nitwit, dope

   Oppositegenius, sage

   Note

   Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1748) shows how the word can name a lapse as well as a person: "No man is always a fool, every man is sometimes." That flexibility explains phrases like "any fool could see", which mock no one in particular. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Samuel Richardson wrote Clarissa. gutenberg.org
   • Clarissa's first-edition title page is dated 1748. commons.wikimedia.org
   • The quotation occurs verbatim in Clarissa, in Lord M.'s letter to Robert Lovelace, rather than as a personal statement by Richardson. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   deceiveverbtransitive

   To trick or deceive someone, or make them look foolish.

   Don't let those fake discount labels fool you into overspending.

   The magician fooled the entire audience with a single sleight of hand.

   UsageOften passive be fooled by, or fool someone into doing something. Also you're not fooling anyone.

   Similartrick, deceive, dupe, hoodwink, mislead

   Note

   Richard Feynman, writing in 1986 on Space Shuttle reliability, found "gradually fooling oneself while degrading standards" in the booster and main engine safety work. There, the deception has no trickster but the self, which is the sense at its most serious. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Richard Feynman wrote the observations on Space Shuttle reliability. nasa.gov
   • The report containing Feynman's observations dates to 1986. nasa.gov
   • The quoted wording is exact and characterizes booster and main engine safety systems. Feynman contrasts these with software checking, where he finds no such process. nasa.gov
3. 3
   mess aroundverbintransitive

   To act in a silly or foolish manner.

   Instead of rehearsing their lines, half the cast spent the evening fooling around backstage.

   Stop fooling and get back to work before the manager sees you.

   UsageMostly fool around: stop fooling around. Careful: fool around can also mean have casual sex.

   Similarclown, joke

   Note

   Without an object, the verb stops deceiving and starts clowning. Dryden's question in The Spanish Fryar, "Is this a time for fooling?", shows its favorite form, the -ing noun. Judy Blume's "me and Jimmy fool more than we work" (1972) shows the bare verb is still alive in plain speech. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • John Dryden wrote The Spanish Fryar, which contains this exact question. The character Pedro speaks it. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted words occur in Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; this is fictional narration, not Blume speaking personally. en.wiktionary.org
   • The Blume work containing the quotation was first published in 1972. judyblume.com
4. 4
   a trick's victimnouncountable

   A person who has been tricked or deceived; a dupe.

   He realized too late that he had been the fool in their scheme.

   When the investors learned the gold mine had never existed, they realized they had been played for fools.

   UsageSet phrases: nobody's fool, play someone for a fool, April fool!

   Similardupe, sucker, patsy, mug, chump

   Note

   In literary use, an of-phrase can name whatever does the deceiving. Tennyson's In Memoriam (1850) has the waking will cry, "Thou shalt not be the fool of loss," meaning grief's dupe. That construction now sounds poetic. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Alfred Tennyson wrote In Memoriam, first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
   • The quotation is exact, and the poem attributes it to the will waking in the morning. en.wikisource.org
   • The quoted use of fool means a dupe, with loss naming what deceives or masters the person. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   comic characternouncountable

   A jester kept at court to amuse a ruler, or such a character in plays and stories, often wiser than he seems.

   Shakespeare often gives the fool the wisest lines in the entire play.

   In the play, the king's fool mocks him openly, yet his jokes carry truths no courtier dares to speak.

   Similarjester, clown

   Note

   The word covers the real court jester and the figure on stage and page, though the stage role does not require a jester's job. Any character set apart by simplicity or bad luck can fill it. Critics usually use the word with an article and a qualifier: the fool of a play, the Shakespearean fool. The figure's interest lies in a paradox. The character least bound by social expectation is often the one who shows the audience the truth. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • A fool could be a real court jester employed to entertain a ruler. en.wiktionary.org
   • A dramatic fool need not be employed as a jester. en.wikipedia.org
   • Simplicity or bad luck can characterize the literary fool. en.wikipedia.org
   • The wise fool's freedom from social conventions allows the character to express truths. en.wikipedia.org
6. 6
   friendly addressnounslangcountable

   An informal term of address used between friends, similar to 'buddy,' 'dude,' or 'man.'

   Yo fool, did you catch that last play of the game?

   Thanks for the ride, fool, I owe you one.

   Similardude, man, buddy, bro, homie

   Note

   A greeting that turns the insult inside out. It is chiefly African-American Vernacular, and it is also heard in Hispanic usage. It typically closes an opener such as "What up, fool?" between friends, where it signals ease rather than contempt. Because it is slang that depends on familiarity, the warmth relies on that shared footing. Without it, listeners may hear the ordinary insult.

Showing meanings only. Show all 10