fools

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 & related words for fools

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Words related to fools

Explore words related to fools — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include tomfool, saphead, chump, befool, juggins, dupe, jester, muggins. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does fools come from?

The word fools 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.