fools

Noun

fool (plural fools)

1. (derogatory) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
   • You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.

   Synonyms:

   ignoramus, naif, simpleton, simp, goofus, doofus, dimwit, idiot, imbecile, stultus

2. (historical) A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
   • 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.1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants

   Synonyms:

   jester, joker

3. 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.
4. Someone who has been made a fool of or tricked; dupe.
   • 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.’1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto IV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   dupe, mark, goat

5. (informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
   • Can they think me […] their fool or jester?1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   fan

6. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) An informal greeting akin to buddy, dude, or man.
   • 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? […]”2010, G.C. Deuce, From the Gutter to the Grave: An American Hood Novel, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 291

See all 13 meanings of fool