FOOL

chump, fool, gull, mark, patsy, fall guy, sucker, soft touch, mug

(noun) a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of

fool, sap, saphead, muggins, tomfool

(noun) a person who lacks good judgment

jester, fool, motley fool

(noun) a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages

gull, dupe, slang, befool, cod, fool, put on, take in, put one over, put one across

(verb) fool or hoax; “The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone”; “You can’t fool me!”

fritter, frivol away, dissipate, shoot, fritter away, fool, fool away

(verb) spend frivolously and unwisely; “Fritter away one’s inheritance”

fool, gull, befool

(verb) make a fool or dupe of

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

fool

(pejorative) 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).

(informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.

(slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) Buddy, dude, man.

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

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

Synonyms

• (person with poor judgment): See also fool

• (person who entertained a sovereign): jester, joker

• (person who talks a lot of nonsense): gobshite

Verb

fool (third-person singular simple present fools, present participle fooling, simple past and past participle fooled)

To trick; to deceive

To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly

Synonyms

• See also deceive

Adjective

fool (comparative fooler or more fool, superlative foolest or most fool)

(informal) Foolish.

Anagrams

• Olof, floo, loof

Source: Wiktionary


Fool, n. Etym: [Cf. F. fouler to tread, crush. Cf. 1st Foil.]

Definition: A compound of gooseberries scalded and crushed, with cream; -- commonly called gooseberry fool.

Fool, n. Etym: [OE. fol, n. & adj., F. fol, fou, foolish, mad; a fool, prob. fr. L. follis a bellows, wind bag, an inflated ball; perh. akin to E. bellows. Cf. Folly, Follicle.]

1. One destitute of reason, or of the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a natural.

2. A person deficient in intellect; one who acts absurdly, or pursues a course contrary to the dictates of wisdom; one without judgment; a simpleton; a dolt. Extol not riches, then, the toil of fools. Milton. Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other. Franklin.

3. (Script.)

Definition: One who acts contrary to moral and religious wisdom; a wicked person. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Ps. xiv. 1.

4. One who counterfeits folly; a professional jester or buffoon; a retainer formerly kept to make sport, dressed fantastically in motley, with ridiculous accouterments. Can they think me . . . their fool or jester Milton. April fool, Court fool, etc. See under April, Court, etc.

– Fool's cap, a cap or hood to which bells were usually attached, formerly worn by professional jesters.

– Fool's errand, an unreasonable, silly, profitless adventure or undertaking.

– Fool's gold, iron or copper pyrites, resembling gold in color.

– Fool's paradise, a name applied to a limbo (see under Limbo) popularly believed to be the region of vanity and nonsense. Hence, any foolish pleasure or condition of vain self-satistaction.

– Fool's parsley (Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant (Æthusa Cynapium) resembling parsley, but nauseous and poisonous.

– To make a fool of, to render ridiculous; to outwit; to shame. [Colloq.] -- To play the fool, to act the buffoon; to act a foolish part. "I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly." 1 Sam. xxvi. 21.

Fool, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Fooling.]

Definition: To play the fool; to trifle; to toy; to spend time in idle sport or mirth. Is this a time for fooling Dryden.

Fool, v. t.

1. To infatuate; to make foolish. Shak. For, fooled with hope, men favor the deceit. Dryden.

2. To use as a fool; to deceive in a shameful or mortifying manner; to impose upon; to cheat by inspiring foolish confidence; as, to fool one out of his money. You are fooled, discarded, and shook off By him for whom these shames ye underwent. Shak. To fool away, to get rid of foolishly; to spend in trifles, idleness, folly, or without advantage.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

26 April 2024

CITYSCAPE

(noun) a viewpoint toward a city or other heavily populated area; “the dominant character of the cityscape is it poverty”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

coffee icon