1
as in lunatics
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
only a fool would attempt to climb that mountain unprepared
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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
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3
as in suckers
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something
I'm a fool for ice cream
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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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in jokes
to make jokes
an edgy comedian fooling with an appreciative college audience
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fools
Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
The mind wants desperately to connect with a person—and fools itself into seeing one in a machine.
—Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2025
None of this is meant to suggest that a trade is imminent, but if offered the chance to trade these three players for Peralta, the Yankees would be fools not to take it.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Sabonis and Zach LaVine are fringe All-Stars most seasons, Keegan Murray is a solid wing starter who shoots and defends, DeRozan can still get midrange buckets and shot-fake fools into heaps of fouls, and Malik Monk is electric in a sixth-man role.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The result is just old-fashioned cinematic fools’ gold, in which sensationalistic blather poses as social commentary.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent years have seen thousands of Palestinian properties illegally seized, but the Khalidis would not be taken for fools.
—Ryan Byrnes, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
Welcome back, friends and fools, to year FIVE of the Vulture Movies Fantasy League.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
The men largely act like fools in Splitsville.
—Nigel Smith, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Noun
The fools of twenty-first-century Western imperialism possessed little of the historical literacy, let alone the moral sophistication, of Arendt, Weil, and Camus.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for fools
Noun
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The lunatics who attacked the seat of government to try to change the outcome of a free and fair election are not patriots.—
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Parents know these woke lunatics are bullies.—
Noun
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Six Flags Magic Mountain will fill the summer, fall and winter seasons in 2026 with an entertaining mix of Superman and Harley Quinn, Oktoberfest beers and Bavarian pretzels, killer clowns and blood curdling screams and Santa Claus and faux snow.—
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There are articles about Frank Sinatra and Michael Jordan, royals and rock stars, cowboys and clowns.—
Noun
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Additionally, prune any dead branches, thorny suckers, and any branches that may be touching the ground.—
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Begin by removing any suckers at the base of the tree, side shoots on the trunk, crossing or crooked branches, dead or damaged branches, those that are growing inward, and crowded branches.—
Noun
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Haunted Trail takes visitors outdoors through a path with dense fog and several haunting installations with zombies, a ghoul bus, a graveyard filled with ghosts, chainsaw maniacs and more.—
Verb
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One of the dangers of the Midwestern climate is a late-winter warm spell that thaws the soil and tricks bulbs and other plants into sprouting too early.—
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This tricks incoming missiles into targeting the decoy instead of the actual jet.—
Verb
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The content creator jokes that for her, with each new year, the same old aspirations roll around time and again — though she's never been one for big sweeping resolutions.—
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There are also characters everyone jokes about.—
Noun
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The next slide showed a mouthwatering array of meats, cheeses, crudite and nuts set for snacking on, along with bottles of Haack's champagne line, Clé Cachée, chilling behind an array of glasses.—
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For instance, nuts, seeds, nut butters, and chocolate are more prone to oxidation, which can lead to rancid flavors or a gritty texture.—
Noun
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After all, when lovers of the cosmos come together in this Earth sign, tradition, courtship and long-term commitment take precedence over fleeting chemistry.—
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The cafe’s signature coconut latte is a great way to beat the heat and a must for coconut lovers.—
Cite this Entry
“Fools.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fools. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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