fool (redirected from acts the fool)

fool  (fl)

n.

1. One who is deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding.

2. One who acts unwisely on a given occasion: I was a fool to have quit my job.

3. One who has been tricked or made to appear ridiculous; a dupe: They made a fool of me by pretending I had won.

4. Informal A person with a talent or enthusiasm for a certain activity: a dancing fool; a fool for skiing.

5. A member of a royal or noble household who provided entertainment, as with jokes or antics; a jester.

6. One who subverts convention or orthodoxy or varies from social conformity in order to reveal spiritual or moral truth: a holy fool.

7. A dessert made of stewed or puréed fruit mixed with cream or custard and served cold.

8. Archaic A mentally deficient person; an idiot.

v. fooled, fool·ing, fools

v.tr.

1. To deceive or trick; dupe: "trying to learn how to fool a trout with a little bit of floating fur and feather" Charles Kuralt.

2. To confound or prove wrong; surprise, especially pleasantly: We were sure they would fail, but they fooled us.

v.intr.

1. Informal

a. To speak or act facetiously or in jest; joke: I was just fooling when I said I had to leave.

b. To behave comically; clown.

c. To feign; pretend: He said he had a toothache but he was only fooling.

2. To engage in idle or frivolous activity.

3. To toy, tinker, or mess: shouldn't fool with matches.

adj. Informal

Foolish; stupid: off on some fool errand or other.

Phrasal Verbs:

fool around Informal

1. To engage in idle or casual activity; putter: was fooling around with the old car in hopes of fixing it.

2. To engage in frivolous activity; make fun.

3. To engage in casual, often promiscuous sexual acts.

fool away

To waste (time or money) foolishly; squander: fooled away the week's pay on Friday night.

Idiom:

play/act the fool

1. To act in an irresponsible or foolish manner.

2. To behave in a playful or comical manner.

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[Middle English fol, from Old French, from Late Latin follis, windbag, fool, from Latin follis, bellows; see bhel-² in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: The pejorative nature of the term fool is strengthened by a knowledge of its etymology. Its source, the Latin word follis, meant "a bag or sack, a large inflated ball, a pair of bellows." Users of the word in Late Latin, however, saw a resemblance between the bellows or the inflated ball and a person who was what we would call "a windbag" or "an airhead." The word, which passed into English by way of French, is first recorded in English in a work written around the beginning of the 13th century with the sense "a foolish, stupid, or ignorant person."

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fool ¹

Noun

1. a person who lacks sense or judgment

2. a person who is made to appear ridiculous

3. (formerly) a professional jester living in a royal or noble household

4. play or act the fool to deliberately act foolishly

Verb

1. to deceive (someone), esp. in order to make them look ridiculous

2. fool around or about with Informal to act or play with irresponsibly or aimlessly

3. to speak or act in a playful or jesting manner [Latin follis bellows]

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fool ²

Noun

Chiefly Brit a dessert made from a puree of fruit with cream [perhaps from fool¹]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	fool - a person who lacks good judgment     muggins, saphead, tomfool, sap ass - a pompous fool buffoon, clown - a rude or vulgar fool flibbertigibbet, foolish woman - a female fool fucker - a stupid despised man bozo, cuckoo, fathead, goof, goofball, jackass, twat, zany, goose - a man who is a stupid incompetent fool meshuggeneh, meshuggener - (Yiddish) a crazy fool morosoph - a learned fool putz - (Yiddish) a fool; an idiot simpleton, simple - a person lacking intelligence or common sense wally - a silly and inept person; someone who is regarded as stupid
	2.	fool - a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of chump, fall guy, gull, patsy, soft touch, sucker, mug, mark dupe, victim - a person who is tricked or swindled
	3.	fool - a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages jester, motley fool merry andrew, buffoon, clown, goof, goofball - a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
Verb	1.	fool - make a fool or dupe of befool, gull cozen, deceive, delude, lead on - be false to; be dishonest with
	2.	fool - spend frivolously and unwisely; "Fritter away one's inheritance" fool away, fritter, fritter away, frivol away, dissipate, shoot ware, squander, consume, waste - spend extravagantly; "waste not, want not"
	3.	fool - fool or hoax; "The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone"; "You can't fool me!" cod, dupe, put one across, put one over, slang, take in, gull, befool, put on kid, pull the leg of - tell false information to for fun; "Are you pulling my leg?" deceive, lead astray, betray - cause someone to believe an untruth; "The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house"
	4.	fool - indulge in horseplay; "Enough horsing around--let's get back to work!"; "The bored children were fooling about" fool around, horse around, arse around jest, joke - tell a joke; speak humorously; "He often jokes even when he appears serious" play - be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children; "The kids were playing outside all day"; "I used to play with trucks as a little girl"

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fool

noun 1. simpleton, idiot, mug Brit. (slang) berk Brit. (slang) charlie Brit. (informal) silly, goose (informal) dope (informal) jerk (slang), chiefly U.S., Canad. dummy (slang) ass U.S., Canad. (taboo) clot Brit. (informal) plank Brit. (slang) sap (slang) wally (slang) illiterate, prat (slang) plonker (slang) coot, moron, nit (informal) git Brit. (slang) geek (slang) twit (informal), chiefly Brit. bonehead (slang) chump (informal) dunce, imbecile (informal) loon, clod, cretin, oaf, bozo U.S. (slang) dullard, dimwit (informal) ignoramus, dumbo (slang) jackass, dipstick Brit. (slang) gonzo (slang) schmuck U.S. (slang) dork (slang) nitwit (informal) dolt, blockhead, ninny, divvy Brit. (slang) bird-brain (informal) pillock Brit. (slang) halfwit, nincompoop, dweeb U.S. (slang) putz U.S. (slang) fathead (informal) weenie U.S. (informal) schlep U.S. (slang) eejit Scot., Irish dumb-ass (slang) pea-brain (slang) dunderhead, numpty Scot. (informal) doofus (slang), chiefly U.S. lamebrain (informal) mooncalf, thickhead, clodpate (archaic) nerd or nurd (slang) numbskull or numskull, twerp or twirp (informal) dorba or dorb Austral. (slang) bogan Austral. (slang) << OPPOSITE genius

noun 2. dupe, butt, mug Brit. (slang) sucker (slang) gull (archaic) stooge (slang) laughing stock, pushover (informal) fall guy (informal) chump (informal) greenhorn (informal) easy mark (informal)

noun 3. jester, comic, clown, harlequin, motley, buffoon, pierrot, court jester, punchinello, joculator or (fem.) joculatrix, merry-andrew

verb 4. deceive, cheat, mislead, delude, kid (informal) trick, take in, con (informal) stiff (slang) have (someone) on, bluff, hoax, dupe, beguile, gull (archaic) swindle, make a fool of, bamboozle, hoodwink, take for a ride (informal) put one over on (informal) play a trick on, pull a fast one on (informal)

fool around with something (Informal) play around with, play with, tamper with, toy with, mess around with, meddle with, trifle with, fiddle around with (informal) monkey around with

Translations

fool [fuːl] n → tonto/a;

(CULIN) → mousse m de frutas

vt → engañar;

to make a fool of o.s. → ponerse en ridículo;

you can't fool me → a mí no me engañas see also April Fool's Day

fool about, fool around vi → hacer el tonto

fool [fuːl] n → idiot(e);

(History) [of king]; bouffon m, fou m;

(Culin) → mousse f de fruits

vt → berner, duper

vi (also: fool around) → faire l'idiot or l'imbécile;

to make a fool of sb (= ridicule) → ridiculiser qn (= trick); avoir or duper qn;

to make a fool of o.s. → se couvrir de ridicule;

you can't fool me → vous (ne) me la ferez pas, on (ne) me la fait pas

fool about, fool around vi (pej) (= waste time); traînailler, glandouiller: (= behave foolishly); faire l'idiot or l'imbécile

fool [fuːl] n → Dummkopf m;

(Culin) → Sahnespeise aus Obstpüree

vt → hereinlegen, täuschen

vi → herumalbern;

to make a fool of sb → jdn lächerlich machen;

(trick) → jdn hereinlegen;

to make a fool of o.s. → sich blamieren;

you can't fool me → du kannst mich nicht zum Narren halten

fool about fool (pej) vi → herumtrödeln;

(behave foolishly) → herumalbern

fool around fool vi = fool about

fool [fuːl] n → sciocco/a;

(HISTORY) [of king] → buffone m;

(CULIN) → frullato

vt → ingannare

vi (gen): fool around → fare lo sciocco;

to make a fool of sb → prendere in giro qn;

to make a fool of o.s → coprirsi di ridicolo;

you can't fool me → non mi inganna

fool about, fool around vi (= waste time) → perdere tempo

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fool

n fool [fuːl]

a person without sense or intelligence He is such a fool he never knows what to do.dwaas; gekأحْمَقглупакblázenfjols; narder Narr/die Närrinηλίθιοςtonto, imbéciltobuآدم احمقtyperysfou, folleטִיפֵּשमूर्खbudala, ludabolondorang bodohbjáni, heimskingisciocco愚か者바보kvailysmuļķisbodohdwaasfjols, idiot, tosk, narrgłupiectolonătărău; nebunдуракblázonnorecbudaladåre, dumbom, tokคนโง่aptal傻子дуреньاحمقkẻ ngu đần傻子

v

1 to deceive She completely fooled me with her story.vir die gek hou; om die bos leiيَخْدَع، يَغُشзаблуждавамoklamat, napálitnarrezum Narren haltenξεγελώengañarninapidi vedamaفریب دادنvetää nenästäbernerלְשָטוֹתमूर्ख बनानाprevariti, nasamaritibecsapmembodohiblekkja, leika áprendere in giro; ingannareだます속이다apkvailinti, apgauti[]muļķotmemperbodoh-bodohkanerin laten lopennarre, lure, bedraokpić, oszukaćenganara prostiдурачитьoklamaťukanitizavaratilura, narraหลอกลวงaldatmak愚弄обдурюватиبے وقوف بناناdùng thủ đoạn hay lừa đảo ai愚弄

2 (often with about or around) to act like a fool or playfully Stop fooling about!rondspeel; rondpeuterيَتَسَكَّع، يُمْضي وَقْتَه كالأحْمَقдържа се глупавоpohrávat si; dělat špásyfjolle rundtPossen treibenφέρομαι ανόηταhacer el tonto, bromearlollitamaلودگی کردنpelleilläfaire l'imbécileלְהִשתַטוֹתमूर्खतापूर्ण ढंग से व्यवहार करनाbudaliti, poigravati sehülyéskedikmain-mainhaga sér eins og bjánifare il buffoneふざける웃기다, 장난치다kvailiotimuļķotiesmain-maingek doentøyse, fjolle, tullebłaznować, wygłupiać siębrincara face pe prostulвалять дуракаrobiť si vtipynoretiludirati sebära sig åt som en stolle, larva sigทำเป็นตลกaptal gibi davranmak瞎弄блазнювати; пустуватиمسخرہ پن کرنا، غیر سنجیدہ رہناxử sự một cách dại dột瞎弄

adj ˈfoolish

1 having no sense He is a foolish young man.dwaas; onverstandigeغَبيглупавnerozumnýtåbeligdummανόητοςtontorumalاحمقtyperäétourdi, stupideטִיפֵּשׁमूर्खbudalast, neozbiljanbolondbodohheimskulegurstupido愚かな어리석은kvailasmuļķīgsbodohdwaasfjollet, tosket, skrullet, dumgłupi, niemądryparvofără minte; absurdглупыйnerozumnýnespametenbudalastdåraktig, dumเขลาaptal愚蠢的дурний; безглуздийبے وقوفdại dột; ngớ ngẩn愚蠢的

2 ridiculous He looked very foolish.dwaas; verspotسَخيفсмешенsměšnýlatterligalbernγελοίοςridículonaeruväärneمضحکnaurettavaridiculeטִיפּשִׁיनासमझsmiješannevetségesmenggelikanfáránlegurridicoloばかげた우스운juokingasmuļķīgskelakarbelachelijklatterligśmiesznyridículoridicolнелепыйsmiešnysmešenšašavfånigดูน่าหัวเราะgülünç可笑的безглуздий, смішнийاحمقانہđần độn可笑的

adv ˈfoolishly

dwaaslik; belaglikبِغَباء، بِسَخافَهглупавоpošetiletåbeligt; latterligtdumm, albernχαζά, γελοίαtontamenterumalaltاحمقانهtyperästistupidementבְּטִיפּשׁוּתमूर्खता सेnerazborito, lakoumno, smiješnoostobánsecara bodohfáránlegastupidamente愚かにも어리석게kvailaimuļķīgidengan bodohdwaasfjollet, latterliggłupioestupidamenteprosteşteглупо; нелепоhlúpobedastobudalastodumtกะเร่อกะร่าaptalca愚蠢地смішноبے وقوفی سےđiên rồ; rồ dại愚蠢地

n ˈfoolishness

gekheid; dwaasheid; belaglikheidغَباء، حَماقَه، سَخافَهглупостиhloupost, nerozumtåbelighed; latterligheddie Torheitχαζομάραestupidezrumalusحماقت؛ ابلهیtyperyysstupiditéטיּפשׁוּתमूर्खताludost, budalaštinaostobaságkebodohankjánaskapurstupidità愚かさ어리석음kvailumasmuļķībakebodohandwaasheidfjollethet, lettsindighetgłupotatoliceprostieглупость; нелепостьbláznovstvonespametnostludostdumhetความโง่aptallık愚蠢дурість, безглуздістьبے وقوفیtính dại dột; tính ngu xuẩn愚蠢

adj ˈfoolhardy

taking foolish risks; rash He made a foolhardy attempt to climb the mountain in winter.roekeloos; waaghalsigمُتَهَوِّر، يُجازِف بِحَماقَهдързъкšíleně odvážný, ztřeštěnýdumdristigtollkühnπαράτολμος, απερίσκεπτοςtemerariouisapäineبی کله؛ بی فکرtyhmänrohkeatéméraireמִסתַכֵּן ללֹא צוֹרֵךबेवकूफी भरा जोखिम उठानाludo odvažanvakmerőnekadfífldjarfurtemerario向こう見ずな무모한beatodairiškaspārdrošsnekadonbezonnendumdristigryzykanckiimprudentenesăbuitбезрассудно храбрыйpríliš nerozvážnynepremišljensmeodumdristigบ้าระห่ำdelicesine cesur莽撞的відчайдушнийاحمقانہ بہادری دکھاناliều lĩnh một cách dại dột莽撞的

n ˈfoolhardiness

roekeloosheid; waaghalsigheidتَهَوُّر، مُجازَفَه بِحَماقَهдързостšílená odvaha, ztřeštěnostdumdristigheddie Tollkühnheitαπερισκεψίαtemeridadhulljulgusابلهی؛ بی پرواییtyhmänrohkeustéméritéהִסתַכּנוּת ללא צוֹרֵךबेवकूफी भरा जोखिम(luda) odvažnostmerészségkenekadanfífldirfskatemerarietà向こう見ず무모함beatodairiðkumaspārdrošībanekadonbezonnenheiddumdristighetryzykanctwoimprudêncianesăbuinţăбезрассудная храбростьnerozvážnosťnepremišljenostsmelostdumdristighetความบ้าระห่ำdelicesine cesurluk莽撞відчайдушністьغیر عاقلانہ بہادریsự liều lĩnh một cách dại dột莽撞

adj ˈfoolproof

unable to go wrong His new plan seems completely foolproof.onfeilbaar; waterdig; teen (alles) bestandلا يُخْطِئ، سَهْل فَهْمُه أو اسْتِعْمالهбезопасенspolehlivýidiotsikkernarrensicher, kinderleichtασφαλής, αλάνθαστοςinfaliblelollikindelخطاناپذیرidioottivarmaà toute épreuveבָּטוּחַत्रुटिरहतिpotpuno siguran, nepogrešivüzembiztostanpa kesalahanpottþétturinfallibile間違いようのない실패할 수 없는, 아주 간단한patikimas, saugusdrošs; (par ierīcēm) vienkāršs; viegli lietojamstanpa kesalahanwaterdichtidiotsikkerniezawodnyseguroinfai­libilнадёжныйspoľahlivýotročje lahekbezbedanidiotsäkerไม่น่าจะผิดพลาดได้emin, güvenilir十分簡單明瞭的вірний, безсумнівнийبے خطاhết sức rõ ràng十分简单明了的

make a fool of

to make (someone) appear ridiculous or stupid He made a real fool of her by promising to marry her and then leaving her when he had spent all her money.iemand belaglik maak; iemand vir die gek houيَجْعَلُه أضْحوكَةًправя на глупакdělat si blázny zgøre en til grin; gøre nar af enjemanden zum Narren haltenγελοιοποιώponer en ridículonarriks tegemaاحمق جلوه دادنnolata(se) rendre ridiculeלְשָׁטוֹתकिसी को बेवकूफ बनानाpraviti budalu od nekogabolonddá tesz vkitmengejek, memperolok-olokkan, mengelabuigera að fíflifarsi gioco diばかにする바보로 만들다pastatyti į kvailio padėtįapmuļķot; nostādīt kādu muļķīgā stāvoklīmemperbodoh-bodohkanvoor gek zettenlatterliggjørerobić durnia z, wystrychnąć na dudkafazer de parvoa-şi bate joc deодурачитьrobiť si blázna zosmešitinapraviti budalu odgöra ngn till åtlöjeหลอกลวงaptal yerine koymak愚弄робити дурня з когоکسی کو بیوقوف بناناlừa ai愚弄

make a fool of oneself

to act in such a way that people consider one ridiculous or stupid She made a fool of herself at the party.jou belaglik; bespotlik maakيَجْعَل من نَفْسِه أضْحوكَةًизлагам сеzesměšnit segøre sig selv til grinsich lächerlich machenγελοιοποιούμαιen ridículo quedar(ennast) naeruvääristamaخود را مضحکه کردنnolata itsensäse rendre ridiculeלַעֲשׂוֹת צְחוֹק מְעֲצמֵךऐसा काम जिससे खुद को बेवकूफ महसूस करने लगेosramotiti se, uciniti se smiješnimnevetségessé teszi magátberlaku bodohgera sig að fíflirendersi ridicolo笑いものになる웃음거리가 되다pasirodyti kvailiunostādīt sevi muļķīgā stāvoklīmemperbodoh-bodohkanzich belachelijk makendumme seg utzbłaźnić/wygłupić siędar-se ao ridículoa se face de râsставить себя в дурацкое положениеzosmiešniť saosmešiti senapraviti budalu od sebegöra bort sigล้อเลียนkendini gülünç duruma düşürmek鬧笑話пошитися в дурніاپنا بیوقوف بناناxử sự một cách ngốc nghếch闹笑话

play the fool

to act in a foolish manner, especially with the intention of amusing other people He always played the fool when the teacher left the classroom.gekskeerيَتَحامَق، يَتَصَرَّف كالأحْمَقвърша глупостиjančit, dělat ze sebe bláznaspille klovnPossen machenκάνω τον καραγκιόζηhacer el tontolollitamaدلقک بازی درآوردنpelleilläfaire le pitreלְהִשתַטוֹתबेवकूफों जैसी हरकत करनाizigravati budalubolondozikmembadutleika trúðinn, vera með trúðslætifare il buffoneおどける(남을 웃기기 위해) 바보같은 짓을 하다kvailioti, vaizduoti kvailįmuļķoties; dzīt velnumembadutvoor gek spelenoppføre seg dumt, spille klovnbłaznowaćfazer de parvoa face pe clovnulдурачитьсяvystrájať hlúpostiuganjati burkeizigravati budaluspela pajasแกล้งโง่maskaralık yapmak裝傻相дурня клеїтиدوسروں کی تفریح کے لۓ احمقانہ حرکتیں کرناlàm trò hề装傻相