1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
only a fool would attempt to climb that mountain unprepared
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clown
a person formerly kept in a royal or noble household to amuse with jests and pranks
a king's fool could get away with saying things that others in the palace couldn't
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in sucker
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something
I'm a fool for ice cream
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
he's always got some fool plan or other
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue
I fooled him into thinking that we were driving to the store, not to his surprise birthday party
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fool
James Horncastle, New York Times, 2 June 2026
But don't let his calm demeanor fool you.
—Joelle Goldstein, USA Today, 1 June 2026
Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 June 2026
If rankings produced by the very company at the top of the list seem unlikely to fool anyone, that’s because humans probably aren’t the target audience.
—Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fool
Noun
Predicting the future is a fool’s game.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 2 June 2026
But don't let his calm demeanor fool you.
—Joelle Goldstein, USA Today, 1 June 2026
Verb
Don’t be fooled by its plentiful packing space; the Cuyana style is still (somehow) compact and easy to tuck under your seat or in an overhead compartment.
—Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 June 2026
If rankings produced by the very company at the top of the list seem unlikely to fool anyone, that’s because humans probably aren’t the target audience.
—Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fool
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool
Noun
-
The lunatics are running the asylum.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
-
Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and other lunatics round out the cast.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Hints at the canonical Big Daddies of existential clown float through the air — Beckett would recognize this pair, and so would Jean Genet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
14 June 2026
-
The comments section is filled with college football fans from all over the country calling the university's athletic department a bunch of clowns and hypocrites, but one Big 12 rival, the TCU Horned Frogs, put out a statement of their own in response to Tech's video.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
One- or 2-foot-long suckers will produce enough bait chunks for an entire day of fishing.—
Chad Mason,
Outdoor Life,
3 June 2026
-
This revealed that the creature had short arms, few arm suckers, and no ink sac, as well as having very smooth skin and a large rachidian tooth.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Subscriptions started at $88 per week and included almost 300 templates for fake websites designed to deceive customers, a dashboard that allowed criminals to monitor their campaigns, a discussion forum where users could find collaborators and receive support, and keylogging capabilities.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
13 June 2026
-
No, your eyes do not deceive you.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
When Lois Neville and Ellen Boudreau-Den Herder became co-executive directors of the Hollywood Fringe Festival in early 2020, their first job, Neville likes to joke, was to cancel it.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
Brittany Bell jokes that doctorate dissertation is 'coincidental' Bell, who also has a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and a master's degree from Pepperdine University, spoke about her doctoral dissertation in the February 2025 interview.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Colman Domingo wore a colorful custom Valentino look based on the house's harlequin motif.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
-
Common Pests and Diseases Broccoli plants can be damaged by common insect pests, like caterpillars, aphids, flea beetles, and harlequin bugs, says Minter.—
Blythe Copeland,
Martha Stewart,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fool.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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