Pronunciations (9)
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/fuːl/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/fʉwl/
Pronunciation notes
- British
- Southern
- Standard
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[fʊwl]
Pronunciation notes
- British
- Southern
- Standard
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/foːl/
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/ful/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
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/fʉːl/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- New-Zealand
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[fuːl]
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- New-Zealand
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/fʉl/
Pronunciation notes
- Northern-Ireland
- Scotland
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fuːl
Noun
A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
Usage- Derogatory
- Synonyms
- Examples
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You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.
The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.
More examples (7)
Erasmus, [...] saide wiselie that experience is the common scholehouse of foles, and ill men: Men of witte and honestie, be otherwise instructed.
No man is always a fool, every man is sometimes.
'If I coloured at all, Mr Edward,' said Joe, 'which I didn't know I did, it was to think I should have been such a fool as ever to have any hope of her. She’s as far out of my reach as—as Heaven is.'
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools
You're just a poor misguided fool Who thinks they know what I should do A line for me and a line for you I lose my right to a point of view.
And every time I'm meant to be acting sensible You drift into my head And turn me into a crumbling fool.
I like that you're broken Broken like me Maybe that makes me a fool
A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
Usage- Historical
- Examples
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More examples (1)
1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants This court fool could say bright things on occasion, but his main use to the ladies and lords of the palace was to serve as victim to practical jokes, cruel, coarse, and vulgar enough to be appreciated perhaps in the Bowery.
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.
Someone who has been made a fool of or tricked; dupe.
- Examples
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Such clouds of nameless trouble cross All night below the darken’d eyes; With morning wakes the will, and cries, ‘Thou shalt not be the fool of loss.’
Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
Usage- Informal
- Examples
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Can they think me […] their fool or jester?
I'm a fool for the city.
An informal greeting akin to buddy, dude, or man.
Usage- Slang
- Examples
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Upon opening the door, Trech was suddenly drawn aback by the shocking presence of the armed goon standing directly in front of him. “Yo, what up fool? […]”
More examples (3)
“What up, fool?” he finally responded. “Not too much; fell asleep watching your boys get their asses kicked,” I told him, referring to the Carolina Cougars, the last team he played for before he got sick.
Fame leaves out the house and walks to the BP gas station on Alabama Avenue. On the way there he sees his man Mark posted up at the rec center and walks over to holla at him. “What’s up fool?” Mark says while dapping Fame up.
“What up fool?” Lil Slim said noticing the seriousness in Lil Kilo’s voice. “You ain’t switched up on us have you.” Lil Fresh looked at Lil Kilo like where that come from. “Nigga I’ll neva switch up.” Lil Slim said feeling a little offended.
A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.
Verb
To trick; to deceive.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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More examples (2)
She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance.
There appears to be no process of gradually fooling oneself while degrading standards so characteristic of the Solid Rocket Booster or Space Shuttle Main Engine safety systems.
Liara: Do not be fooled by these civilized surroundings. This is a place of secrets and lies.
To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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1681/1682, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar Is this a time for fooling?
She's always complaining that she got stuck with the worst possible committee. And that me and Jimmy fool more than we work.
To make a fool of; to make act the fool.
Usage- Archaic
- Examples
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They fool me to the top of my bent.
Adjective
Foolish.
Usage- Informal
- Examples
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Of all the fool, fruitless jobs, making anything of a creature that begins by deceiving her, is the foolest a sane woman ever undertook.
That was a fool thing to do. You could have gotten yourself shot
Noun
A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.
- Examples
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an apricot fool; a gooseberry fool
More examples (2)
Eton is renowned for its "messes," and "strawberry mess" is Empress of them all, with raspberry mess as a very good second. It does not at all convey the joys of a "mess" to say that it consists of iced fruit and cream, and somewhat resembles a "fool." It is a thing apart, and should be approached with bated breath and unimpaired capacity.
Pellaprat [...] invented the dish [of Eton mess] when a load of over-ripe strawberries needed eating up. His disguise was a fluff of whipped cream and the fool was served with sponge fingers. Somewhere along the line, someone else had the idea of stirring chunks of meringue into the fool at the last moment.
Noun
a person who lacks good judgment
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
Verb
make a fool or dupe of
spend frivolously and unwisely
- Examples
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Fritter away one's inheritance
fool or hoax
- Broader terms
- Examples
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The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone
You can't fool me!
indulge in horseplay
- Examples
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Enough horsing around — let's get back to work!
The bored children were fooling about