plural fools
1
: a person lacking in judgment or prudence
Only a fool would ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet.
2
a
: a retainer (see retainer entry 1 sense 1) formerly kept in great households to provide casual entertainment and commonly dressed in motley with cap, bells, and bauble
3
a
: a person lacking in common powers of understanding or reason
b
: one with a marked propensity or fondness for something
a dancing fool
a fool for candy
4
: a cold dessert of pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream or custard
fooled; fooling; fools
1
a
: to behave foolishly
told the children to stop their fooling
see also fool around
b
: to meddle, tamper, or experiment especially thoughtlessly or ignorantly
Don't fool with that drill.
see also fool around with
2
a
: to play or improvise a comic role
b
: to speak in jest : joke
I was only fooling
3
: to contend or fight without serious intent or with less than full strength : toy
a dangerous man to fool with
Synonyms
Noun
- berk [British]
- booby
- charlie [British]
- charley
- cuckoo
- ding-a-ling
- dingbat
- ding-dong
- dipstick
- doofus [slang]
- featherhead
- git [British]
- goose
- half-wit
- jackass
- lunatic
- mooncalf
- nincompoop
- ninny
- ninnyhammer
- nit [chiefly British]
- nitwit
- nut
- nutcase
- simp
- simpleton
- turkey
- yo-yo
Adjective
- absurd
- asinine
- balmy
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- cockeyed
- crackpot
- crazy
- cuckoo
- daffy
- daft
- dippy
- dotty
- fatuous
- featherheaded
- foolish
- half-baked
- half-witted
- harebrained
- inept
- insane
- jerky
- kooky
- kookie
- loony
- looney
- lunatic
- lunkheaded
- mad
- nonsensical
- nutty
- preposterous
- sappy
- screwball
- senseless
- silly
- simpleminded
- stupid
- tomfool
- unwise
- wacky
- whacky
- weak-minded
- witless
- zany
Verb
Examples of fool in a Sentence
Noun
those fools who ride motorcycles without wearing helmets
Only a fool would ask such a silly question.
You'd be a fool to believe what he tells you.
You're making yourself look like a fool.
Adjective
The dog was barking its fool head off.
Some fool driver kept trying to pass me!
Verb
When she first told us that she was getting married, we thought she was fooling.
His disguise didn't fool anybody.
He really had me fooled.
Stop fooling yourself—she doesn't really love you.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024
Being thought of as cool is a little bit of a fool’s errand for parents and other adults when coolness, like language itself, is a moving target.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Ross Terrell, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
The defendants’ last-minute attempt to rebrand their ER reboot as The Pitt is not fooling anyone.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fool 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Death comes for us all, but not before time makes fools of us first.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2024
Being thought of as cool is a little bit of a fool’s errand for parents and other adults when coolness, like language itself, is a moving target.
—R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Verb
Don't be fooled: the CFP's rankings are what determines whether a team will be in the playoffs.
—Ross Terrell, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
The defendants’ last-minute attempt to rebrand their ER reboot as The Pitt is not fooling anyone.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fool
Dictionary Entries Near fool
Cite this Entry
“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fool. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fool
1 of 2 noun1
: a person who lacks good sense or judgment
2
: a person formerly kept in a noble or royal household to amuse with jests and pranks
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