Antonyms for fool


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : fool
Phonetic Transcription : ful


Definition of fool

Origin :
  • late 13c., "silly or stupid person," from Old French fol "madman, insane person; idiot; rogue; jester," also "blacksmith's bellows," also an adjective meaning "mad, insane" (12c., Modern French fou), from Latin follis "bellows, leather bag" (see follicle); in Vulgar Latin used with a sense of "windbag, empty-headed person." Cf. also Sanskrit vatula- "insane," literally "windy, inflated with wind."
  • The word has in mod.Eng. a much stronger sense than it had at an earlier period; it has now an implication of insulting contempt which does not in the same degree belong to any of its synonyms, or to the derivative foolish. [OED]
  • Meaning "jester, court clown" first attested late 14c., though it is not always possible to tell whether the reference is to a professional entertainer or an amusing lunatic on the payroll. As the name of a kind of custard dish, it is attested from 1590s (the food also was called trifle, which may be the source of the name).
  • There is no foole to the olde foole [Heywood, 1546]
  • Feast of Fools (early 14c.), from Medieval Latin festum stultorum) refers to the burlesque festival celebrated in some churches on New Year's Day in medieval times. Fool's gold "iron pyrite" is from 1829. Fool's paradise "state of illusory happiness" is from mid-15c. Foolosopher, a most useful insult, turns up in a 1549 translation of Erasmus. Fool's ballocks is described in OED as "an old name" for the green-winged orchid.
  • noun stupid or ridiculous person
  • verb trick, mislead
Example sentences :
  • I'm forty-two and not so much of a fool that I ain't a little bit of a physician.
  • Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
  • Its visor grinned at him--the fool, the tricked, the supplanted.
  • Extract from : « Viviette » by William J. Locke
  • He had been made a fool of, and would stand that from nobody.
  • Extract from : « Viviette » by William J. Locke
  • You've made me your butt, your fool, your doer of trivial offices.
  • Extract from : « Viviette » by William J. Locke
  • "Don't be a fool, Buck," said Jasper, glancing over his shoulder.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • He was nevertheless a fool, also, only of another and deeper sort.
  • Extract from : « Weighed and Wanting » by George MacDonald
  • You little witch, how did you contrive to make a fool of a man like me!
  • Extract from : « Weighed and Wanting » by George MacDonald
  • It is a fool's plan to teach a man to be a cur in peace, and think that he will be a lion in war.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Alack and alas that ever I should have been fool enough to trust him!
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • You heard what she said yesterday, and you still are such a fool as to think that.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana

Synonyms for fool

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019