1
as in lunatics
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 clowns
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 suckers
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something
I'm a fool for ice cream
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in maniacs
a person having or showing a severely disordered or abnormal state of mind
he got out of serving in the army by successfully pretending to be a fool
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in tricks
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 jokes
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fools
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
18 June 2026
This game makes fools of us all.
—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
One reason this war may linger is because most of the leaders of these countries and militias know that history has its eyes on them, and there will be a moral, political and economic accounting that will be devastating for each one of these fools.
—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
The American media look here like fools, as does the conspiratorial mirror image imagining a vast secret US operation.
—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.
—
John Archibald,
Southern Living,
11 June 2026
As Rose’s impoverished yet imperious mother Ruth, Parson’s dry deliveries offer great comic ballast to this ship of fools.
—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
Antisemitism is the socialism of fools, right?
—
Suzanne Schneider,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Mar. 2026
Only fools would think differently.
—
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
Sandy Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
What fools these non-OpenAI mortals must be.
—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
This is an ignoble war making monsters and fools out of its participants, and against the uncontrollable weapons that are dragons, everyone’s resolve is crumbling.
—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
18 June 2026
This game makes fools of us all.
—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
One reason this war may linger is because most of the leaders of these countries and militias know that history has its eyes on them, and there will be a moral, political and economic accounting that will be devastating for each one of these fools.
—
Thomas L. Friedman,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
The American media look here like fools, as does the conspiratorial mirror image imagining a vast secret US operation.
—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.
—
John Archibald,
Southern Living,
11 June 2026
As Rose’s impoverished yet imperious mother Ruth, Parson’s dry deliveries offer great comic ballast to this ship of fools.
—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
Antisemitism is the socialism of fools, right?
—
Suzanne Schneider,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Mar. 2026
Only fools would think differently.
—
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
Runway, Pika, and a dozen others can produce footage that fools the eye on first watch.
—
Sandy Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
What fools these non-OpenAI mortals must be.
—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fools
Noun
-
The lunatics are running the asylum.
-
Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Will Arnett and other lunatics round out the cast.
Noun
-
Hang out with sheep, meet magicians and clowns and explore the amusement park.
-
The only leaders more buffoonish and lethal than the fairground hucksters elected in our failing democracies are the omnipotent clowns of tyranny.
Noun
-
If your perennials and annuals get long and leggy with few flowers, or your shrubs put out long suckers that shoot straight up, your plants are reaching for more sun.
-
Removing excessive suckers can sometimes reduce overall yield, so pruning should be limited to removing diseased or damaged leaves, says Singh.
Noun
-
Because Sidney Prescott, now Evans, exists only in relationship to Ghostface, the costume worn by many different knife-wielding maniacs over the years, starting with her high school boyfriend.
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Because Sidney Prescott, now Evans, exists only in relationship to Ghostface, the costume worn by many different knife-wielding maniacs over the years, starting with her high school boyfriend.
Verb
-
Cthulhu, who tricks the Minions into releasing his friends from purgatory.
-
Removing fading flowers and their seed pods tricks the plant to redirect its energy from producing seeds to producing more scapes and flower buds, as well as putting energy into root development and storing energy for the next growing season.
Verb
-
The food team at Southern Living often jokes that there are no original recipe ideas left.
-
In It Was an Accident, Walter jokes about her dating life, her kids and the current political climate all while incorporating the crowd in her standup.
Noun
-
Granola One of the original ‘health foods,’ granola contains many nutritious ingredients, such as oats, nuts, and seeds.
-
California's Central Valley, stretching some 20,000 square miles (51,800 square kilometers), is an agricultural powerhouse that's estimated to produce 40% of the nation's fruits, nuts and other table foods, including most of its nectarines.
Noun
-
Like any public hearing, there were a few jokers who had some strange outbursts, but the majority of the over a dozen speakers weren’t satisfied with Gower’s presentation and used their times to ask questions of the owners as to what has taken so long with this project.
-
Students are required to bring two full decks of cards including the jokers.
Cite this Entry
“Fools.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fools. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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