fool

noun

(derogatory) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.

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

(literature) 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.

(slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular, Hispanic) An informal greeting akin to buddy, dude, or man.

(informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.

(tarot, often capitalized Fool) A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.

(cooking) A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.

A surname.

Alternative letter-case form of fool (“a particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester”). [(derogatory) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.]

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

verb

(transitive) To trick; to deceive.

(intransitive) To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly.

(archaic) To make a fool of; to make act the fool.

adjective

(informal) Foolish.

Roots

follisfool- · Latin · bellows, bag

Synonyms for fool

sapheadn tomfooln chumpn befoolv dupen idiotn jestern simpletonn foolishadj moronn doltn imbecilen ninnyhammer dimwitn nincompoopn nitwitn duncen suckern stupidadj ninnyn buffoonn blockheadn dumbadj

Words related to fool

juggins mugginsn muddlehead blubberhead pillockn halfwit muttonheadn gowk dumbhead lunk noodlehead crackbrainedadj fooleryn plonkern lamebrained dullardn lunkheadn

Synonyms & related words for fool

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of fool — including saphead, tomfool, chump, befool, dupe, idiot. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to fool

Explore words related to fool — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include juggins, muggins, muddlehead, blubberhead, pillock, halfwit, muttonhead, gowk. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for fool

Common synonyms for fool include saphead, tomfool, chump, befool, dupe, idiot, jester, simpleton — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does fool come from?

The word fool breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fool-, from Latin follis (“bellows, bag”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.