fool
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a person who does not have good judgment or who acts in a silly or stupid way.
n.a person lacking in judgment or prudence; often used as a mild to moderate insult regarding someone's intelligence or behavior.
Simple“I felt like a fool when I realized I was wearing two different shoes.”
In context“He was no fool in business matters, yet he consistently allowed his personal biases to cloud his professional judgment.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person in the past whose job was to tell jokes and entertain a king or queen.
n.a professional jester or entertainer at a royal or noble court, historically permitted to speak truths that others could not.
Simple“The king's fool was the only person allowed to mock the monarch's decisions.”
In context“In Shakespearean drama, the fool often serves as a source of profound wisdom disguised as nonsensical riddles.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a cold dessert made of mashed fruit mixed with cream or custard.
n.a traditional British dessert consisting of puréed fruit folded into chilled custard or whipped cream.
Simple“We had a delicious gooseberry fool for dessert after the Sunday roast.”
In context“The chef prepared a rhubarb fool, balancing the tartness of the fruit with a rich, vanilla-infused double cream.”
- 04 B1 Intermediate
v.to trick someone or make them believe something that is not true.
v.to deceive or dupe someone, often by means of a clever or playful trick.
Simple“You can't fool me with that fake spider; I know it's plastic.”
In context“The sophisticated phishing email managed to fool several employees into revealing their login credentials.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to behave in a silly way or waste time.
v.to behave in a playful, frivolous, or idiotic manner; often used with 'around'.
Simple“Stop fooling around and finish your homework before dinner.”
In context“The teenagers were caught fooling around near the edge of the pier, oblivious to the safety warnings posted nearby.”
UsageOften used as the phrasal verb 'fool around'.
- 06 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.silly, stupid, or not showing good sense.
adj.characteristic of a fool; lacking good sense or judgment.
Simple“That was a fool idea to go hiking in the middle of a storm.”
In context“He wasted his inheritance on some fool scheme to find buried treasure in the desert.”
From Middle English fole (“fool”), from Old French fol (cf. modern French fou (“mad”)) from Latin follis. Doublet of fals and follis. Displaced native Old English dwæs.
From French fouler (“to trample”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.