fool¹ /fool/

1. A person lacking in wisdom, judgement or sense
2. A weak-minded person (obsolete)
3. A jester (historical)
4. A dupe or victim
5. A vague term of endearment (obsolete)
6. A person with a weakness (with for)

1. To deceive
2. To cause to appear foolish
3. To obtain by fooling

1. To play the fool
2. To trifle

Foolish

foolˈery noun

1. An act of folly
2. Habitual folly
3. Fooling

foolˈing noun

1. Playing the fool
2. Acting the jester (historical)
3. A characteristic streak of jesting (historical)
4. Trifling

foolˈish adjective

1. Lacking intellect
2. Lacking discretion
3. Unwise, ill considered
4. Ridiculous, idiotic, silly
5. Marked by folly
6. Paltry (archaic)

foolˈishly adverb

foolˈishness noun

foolˈbegged adjective (Shakespeare)

1. Perh, foolish enough to be begged for a fool (qv under beg¹)
2. In allusion to the custom of seeking the administration of a lunatic's estate for one's own advantage)

foolˈ-born adjective (Shakespeare)

Born of a fool or of folly

foolˈ-happy adjective

Happy or lucky without contrivance or judgement

foolhardˈiness or (Spenser) foolhardize or foolhardise /-īzˈ or -härdˈ/ noun

foolˈhardy adjective

1. Foolishly bold
2. Rash or incautious

foolˈish-wittˈy adjective (Shakespeare)

Wise in folly and foolish in wisdom

foolˈproof adjective

1. Infallible
2. Guaranteed not to cause damage or injury if misused

fool's cap noun

A jester's headdress, usu having a coxcomb hood with bells

fool's errand noun

1. A silly or fruitless enterprise
2. A search for what cannot be found

fool's gold noun

Iron pyrites

fool's mate noun

In chess, the simplest of the checkmates (in two moves by each player)

fool's paradise noun

A state of happiness based on fictitious hopes or expectations

fool's parsley noun

A poisonous umbelliferous plant (Aethusa cynapium) that a great enough fool might take for parsley

All Fools' Day see under all

fool about or around

1. To waste time
2. To mess about
3. To trifle with someone's affections, or to be unfaithful to them with a reckless attitude
4. To have sex, or indulge in sexual frolicking

fool away

To squander to no purpose or profit

fool with

To meddle with officiously, irresponsibly or thoughtlessly

make a fool of

1. To cause (someone) to look ridiculous or stupid
2. To humiliate or dupe
3. To disappoint

nobody's fool

A sensible, shrewd person

play or act the fool

1. To behave like a fool
2. To be reckless or foolish
3. To be exuberantly comical or high-spirited

fool² /fool/

A purée of fruit scalded or stewed, mixed with cream or custard and sugar (eg gooseberry fool)

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