fool1 nounfool2 verbfool3 adjective
foolfool1 /fuːl/ ●●○ noun 
WORD ORIGINfool1
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French fol, from Latin follis ‘bag for blowing air’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Anyone who thinks TV news gives you enough information is a fool.
- What does that fool think he's doing?
- Epithets can be abusive: You clumsy fool! epitome A short summary of a speech or book.
- She made you look a bit of a fool in front of anyone else who was watching.
- Some fool backed over mine in a car park.
- They'd X-rayed my chest when any fool knew that it was the kidney that had had to come out.
- This new lot have come up because the landowners are fools.
- We'd be devalued again and any fool but the government can see it coming, can't they?
- What a fool I am, thought Mrs. Fanshawe.
Longman Language Activatorany one of the people in a group or in the world
use this to talk about each person in a group of people when it is not important to say exactly which one: any/man/child/teacher etc: · Ask any teacher and they'll tell you I'm right.· Any student who wishes to go on the trip should sign this list.any of the men/their children/my teachers etc: · Have any of the guests arrived?· Jan decided not to invite any of her relatives to her graduation.any of you/them/us: · Have any of you seen my glasses?
· Don't worry about it. It can happen to anybody.· Did anyone call while I was out?· If anybody needs more information, come and see me after class.· Sarah liked him more than anyone else she knew.· This would be an ideal job for anyone who speaks French and Italian.
informal anyone in the world, used especially when you mean that you should be more careful about who you choose or allow to do something: · Any Tom, Dick, or Harry could have written something just as good.· If you don't have someone at the door, any Tom, Dick or Harry could turn up at the party and walk straight in.
any person -- use this when the identity of the person is not important or is not known: · Whoever you ask, you will get the same answer.· Sam wanted to feel that others, no matter who they were, agreed with him.· If someone comes to your door you should always ask for some form of identification, no matter who they say they are.
if you say that any fool or any idiot can do something, you mean that anyone can do it because it is extremely easy, and if someone cannot do it they must be very stupid: · Any fool could see that the child was unhappy.
someone who is clever at dealing with people or situations especially British /smart especially American intelligent in a practical way, and able to use your intelligence to get advantages for yourself: · Ben Gurion was a cool, calculating and clever politician.· They won the case by being clever and hiring influential lawyers to help them.· She was smart and knew how to get men to give her whatever she wanted.clever at doing something: · Doug's always been clever at finding the best deals available.
a shrewd person is good at deciding what people, situations etc are really like, so that it is difficult to deceive them - use this especially about people who are successful in business: · As a manager, Watson is both shrewd and tough.· Are you a shrewd businessman, quick to see an opportunity or a bargain?· Sachs was a shrewd judge of character, and chose his staff well.
someone who is astute easily understands why people behave in a particular way, why a situation is happening etc, without anyone having to tell them: · Morgan was surprised at how astute she was. "How did you know that?" he asked.· The scale of the riots seemed to surprise even the most astute commentators.financially/politically etc astute: · The President's wife is often politically astute, ambitious and very influential in White House policy decisions.
someone who is canny is very clever, especially in business, so that it is difficult to deceive them and they are able to take advantage of other people: · Pete Chambers is a canny fellow. Not one to miss an opportunity.· She's far too canny to keep her money in this country. She's got it safely hidden away in Switzerland, I expect.
clever at finding ways to deal with problems or difficult situations, using whatever material, information etc that is available to you: · We can influence our children's development by encouraging them to be resourceful when they play.· Keen competition in the arts, crafts and trade made the Greeks an inventive and resourceful people.
someone who is streetwise has a lot of experience of life in big cities, so they know what to do in difficult or dangerous situations: · He seemed very streetwise for a kid who had just left school.· Zachar is a streetwise guy from New York, a gambler who grew up playing the horses at Belmont Park.
informal to be very difficult to trick or deceive because you have a lot of experience or knowledge of people: · Katherine could look after herself and she was nobody's fool when it came to money.
a stupid person someone who does something very stupid or embarrassing: · You lost the tickets? How could you be such an idiot?· Anyone who tells you any different is either a fool or a liar.· Some idiot in a fast car is trying to overtake.· If you believe that, you're a bigger fool than I thought.· She was an idiot to drink so much on an empty stomach.make a fool of yourself (=do something that makes you seem very stupid): · It's increasingly common for the losers to go out kicking and screaming, and generally making fools of themselves.
British informal someone who behaves in a stupid and annoying way: · Look at those wallies jumping around and pulling faces behind the TV reporter.· You look like a right wally in that hat.
especially American someone who is a little stupid and annoying, and who does not care if they upset or hurt other people: · Some jerk just drove right into the back of my car.· I liked the job, but the manager was a jerk.· Ow! You jerk, that hurt!total/real jerk: · She seems to always end up in a relationship with some total jerk.
American informal someone who is stupid and embarrassing: · He's such a goof. I don't know what she sees in him.· He always acts like a real goof after a couple of glasses of wine.· Oh Mike's okay, he's just a bit of a goof ball.
American informal someone who is stupid and does not think about what they say or do: · I'm sorry I was such a dope last night.· Oh you dope, you bought the wrong one.
especially American, informal someone who you think is stupid and strange because they behave strangely or wear strange clothes: · I look like a real dork in this uniform.· Millions of listeners heard him call his production assistant a 'dork' live on air.
WORD SETSacrobat, nounact, verbacting, nounactor, nounactress, nounagent, nounarena, nounbig name, nounbill, nounblack comedy, nounbook, verbcast, nouncasting, nounclown, nouncomedian, nouncomedienne, nouncomedy, nouncomic, nouncompany, nounconcert hall, nounconjure, verbconjurer, nounconjuring, nounconservatoire, nounconservatory, nouncontortionist, noundisplay, noundouble act, nounduo, nounemcee, nounenact, verbencore, nounentertainer, nounentertainment, nounfestival, nounfinale, nounfirst night, nounfool, noungala, noungrand finale, nounguest, nounham, nounheadline, verbheartthrob, nounhigh wire, nounhypnotist, nounimpersonator, nounimpresario, nouninterlude, nounintermission, nouninterpret, verbinterpretation, nounintro, nounlive, adjectivemagic, nounmagician, nounmagic wand, nounmajorette, nounmanager, nounmask, nounmatinée, nounmatinée idol, nounmegastar, nounmime, nounminstrel, nounnarration, nounopening night, nounPA, nounpart, nounperform, verbperformance, nounperformer, nounpresentation, nounprincipal, nounproducer, nounprogramme, nounprompt, verbprompt, nounpublic, nounpunchline, nounraconteur, nounrecast, verbrecitation, nounrehearsal, nounrehearse, verbrepertoire, nounreprise, nounringside, nounroadshow, nounrole-play, nounsafety net, nounshow business, nounshowgirl, nounshow-stopping, adjectivesketch, nounslapstick, nounsleight of hand, nounsmash hit, nounsnake charmer, nounsold out, adjectiveson et lumière, nounstand-up, adjectivestand-up, nounstar, verbstooge, nounstraight man, nounstripper, nounstriptease, nounsuperstar, nountattoo, nountightrope, nountour, nountroubadour, nountroupe, nountumbler, nounventriloquist, nounvirtuoso, nounwooden, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
What a fool she had been to think that he would stay. Like a fool, I accepted straight away. You silly old fool!COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
What a fool she had been to think that he would stay. Like a fool, I accepted straight away. You silly old fool! Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.· The bloody fools seem to have been under the impression that they had performed rather well.· For several moments he studied its blankness, wondering if he was not a bloody fool.· Tell Clifford to hang on to his job and stop being a bloody fool.· Greg has asthma. Bloody fool.· Twinkle twinkle little star ... No one but a bloody fool would try to walk a mile with an arrow through his chest.· Meet J. Kendall, bloody fool.· Then don't stand there dithering, you bloody fool.· Things like a freshly made bed, regular meals, some one to dote on him like a bloody fool!
· Meg realized she'd been a complete fool.· She's throwing herself at that man, making a complete fool of herself.· Better that, she thought resignedly, than making a complete fool of herself.· Balbindor treated Father and me all along as complete fools.· She had made a complete fool of herself and had successfully lived down to every low opinion that Piers harboured about her.· You would be a complete fool if you did.· What if she made a complete fool of herself and let Ricky down?· So a complete fool will not acquire a following.
· I began crying and swearing and socking myself on the head for being such a damn fool.· He hated what went on among the other couples and in which he could share were he not such a damn fool.· We got upland politicians to thank for that, damn fools.· She sald Hamlet was a damn fool.
· And when I did I behaved like a damned fool.· Silently she cursed herself for being such a damned fool.· Although only a damned fool would believe it.
· And what a greater fool was he, to risk his men in argument.· Was I not perhaps the greatest fool in Christendom?· Your milk-brother, you great fool!
· She was a drinking little fool and kept up with me and passed me and went right on talking till midnight.
· She thought what an undecided old fool Phoebe was, but it made her outburst at the Frolic all the more courageous.· Papa, you old fool!!!· But then the old fool should have been a little less unwashed and boring.· He was no more to her, he thought, than a tiresome old man, an old fool.· An old fool if you like.· Am I to be troubled by a skinny old fool in mirror shades?· What a silly old fool he was.
· His mind gave way, poor fool.· Eddie, poor fool, complies.· No merciful sudden death for that poor romantic young fool, he thought grimly.· The joke is always on the physician, not on the poor fool given unto his care.· The laugh acknowledged, even admiringly, some sort of necessity that Cedric, poor fool, could not begin to understand.· Miller does not yet know this, the poor fool.
· And what good you, you silly fool, playing into my hands like this?· But the captain mocked him for a silly fool and bade the crew hasten to hoist the sail.· What a silly old fool he was.
· Not a Hammond you stupid fool!· Well, let us be blunt: People who believe this logic are either stupid or fools.· What kind of stupid fools are they, anyway?
· Yes, there are old fools, but there are also young fools, and viceversa.· There are as many young fools as old ones.· I was a young man then ... a young fool.· No merciful sudden death for that poor romantic young fool, he thought grimly.
NOUN· If serving the gooseberry fool on its own, add a little extra sugar to taste.
VERB· He acted the fool, losing at first to whet their appetites, but in an hour emptied his three victims' purses.· Don't go acting the fool, Carl.· If only he would drop all this ridiculous pretence, stop acting the fool and raise his game one more time.· All applauded the advice and Agamemnon confessed that he had acted like a fool.· They drank her champagne, ate her perfect food and acted like perfect fools even though they sometimes knew better.
· The formula is for a simple raspberry purée and cream mixture which today we should call a raspberry fool.· He called me a fool and stormed out.
· It's very peculiar - he made me feel a fool.· He feels like a fool in his virtual reality goggles as he trudges through the driving rain to the parked aircraft.· Then I felt a fool and decided to leave it and mind my own business.· She felt like a fool and began to laugh out loud.· I felt such a fool when he picked me up like that.· I laughed at how easily the man could make me feel like a fool.· Waiters made him feel a fool, this clever man.
· This time she yelled his name, not giving a damn if she looked a fool, and dived after him.· Those in charge ended up looking like fools.· Some one else might have looked like a fool.· Thank you for making me look a fool?· His eyes are open so wide he looks like a fool.· To me, ti just looks like the fools are running scared.· It made her look a fool.
· But the trouble with the picture is that it does absolutely nothing with its various prognostications except play the fool with them.· In class he never played the fool, never challenged the teacher.· Dominic and Lee had been playing the fool as only young men can.· Those on the path of mastery are willing to take chances, play the fool....· Narouz had been angry, first with the girl for playing the fool and then with the eunuch for not finding her.· Don't imagine you can play me for a fool.· He thought that being an actor was tap dancing and playing the fool.· He likes me to play the fool.
· He was a perfectionist who didn't suffer fools gladly.· A tall, fast-talking southerner whose accent still lingers despite her years in the north, Porter does not suffer fools gladly.· But if he didn't suffer fools gladly, I must ask who would want to?· You don't suffer fools gladly, especially when they have power over you.· She was a forceful personality who did not suffer fools gladly, but her sternness was accompanied by grace and Victorian courtesy.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► more fool you/him etc► be living in a fool’s paradise► (send somebody on) a fool’s errand► fools rush in (where angels fear to tread)► a fool and his money are soon partedPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a prize idiot/fool
1stupid person [countable] a stupid person or someone who has done something stupid SYN idiot: - If serving the gooseberry fool on its own, add a little extra sugar to taste.
- A tall, fast-talking southerner whose accent still lingers despite her years in the north, Porter does not suffer fools gladly.
- Mr Fallon has been described as the kind of man who does not suffer fools gladly.
- She was a forceful personality who did not suffer fools gladly, but her sternness was accompanied by grace and Victorian courtesy.
- Don't play the fool with me. You know why I moved away.
- But the trouble with the picture is that it does absolutely nothing with its various prognostications except play the fool with them.
- Dominic and Lee had been playing the fool as only young men can.
- Don't go acting the fool, Carl.
- He acted the fool, losing at first to whet their appetites, but in an hour emptied his three victims' purses.
- He likes me to play the fool.
- In class he never played the fool, never challenged the teacher.
- Narouz had been angry, first with the girl for playing the fool and then with the eunuch for not finding her.
- Those on the path of mastery are willing to take chances, play the fool...
- I met Sylvester Stallone one time and made a complete fool of myself.
- A true cat is often willing to make a fool of herself, but only on her own terms.
- And why should you make a fool of yourself now by trying?
- Athletes will seldom make fools of themselves for the press.
- I have made a fool of myself.
- One thing Congress apparently can do in a bipartisan spirit is to make a fool of itself.
- She had truly made a fool of herself.
- The mature glider pilot would never hesitate to make a fool of himself in the interests of safety.
- Your biggest fear is probably the fear of making a fool of yourself and this is what is making you nervous.
- Why did you try to make a fool of me in public?
- And Jeffries then proceeded to make a fool of Marshak by never again producing a single scholarly work.
- And why should you make a fool of yourself now by trying?
- Has my host made a fool of me?
- One thing Congress apparently can do in a bipartisan spirit is to make a fool of itself.
- People got tired of interviewing him because they felt they were being made fools of.
- The mature glider pilot would never hesitate to make a fool of himself in the interests of safety.
- We were dreary and would have made fools of ourselves.
- Your biggest fear is probably the fear of making a fool of yourself and this is what is making you nervous.
- Any fool can make a baby, but it takes a real man to raise his children.
- But it is for you already, any fool can see you're in no shape to continue.
- Conversely, any fool can sit down at a slot machine.
- Of course any fool can write down 1,2,3,4 and even 5,6,7,8 opposite the names of candidates on a ballot paper.
- Perhaps he was, she was nobody's fool.
- Am I to be troubled by a skinny old fool in mirror shades?
- An old fool if you like.
- But then the old fool should have been a little less unwashed and boring.
- He was no more to her, he thought, than a tiresome old man, an old fool.
- Look there that old fool Broom, slipped off to sleep.
- She thought what an undecided old fool Phoebe was, but it made her outburst at the Frolic all the more courageous.
- The old bats included a plastic, an aluminum and a wooden one.
- A year before he had, but that year had changed him, eliminated the sentiment and made him a perfect stranger.
- Again he was a person, no longer a perfect stranger.
- Asked to stand guard over good or treasure, they would good-naturedly hand everything over to a perfect stranger.
- I was then to ask what people thought about being smiled at by a perfect stranger.
- She turned into an expert at coaxing food and lodging invitations out of perfect strangers.
- Some oranges in a commune, like perfect strangers, dwell upon their own navels, untransformed.
- They put money on the table, too, perfect strangers expressing unmistakable monetary interest in the Tonelli Nation.
- A tall, fast-talking southerner whose accent still lingers despite her years in the north, Porter does not suffer fools gladly.
- Mr Fallon has been described as the kind of man who does not suffer fools gladly.
- She was a forceful personality who did not suffer fools gladly, but her sternness was accompanied by grace and Victorian courtesy.
What a fool she had been to think that he would stay. Like a fool, I accepted straight away. You silly old fool!2make a fool of yourself to do something stupid that you feel embarrassed about afterwards and that makes you seem silly: Sorry I made such a fool of myself last night. I must have been drunk.3make a fool of somebody to deliberately do something to make someone else seem stupid: I suddenly realised that I was being made a fool of.4any fool can do something spoken used to say that it is very easy to do something or to see that something is true: Any fool could have seen what would happen.5be no/nobody’s fool to be difficult to trick or deceive, because you have a lot of experience and knowledge about something: Katherine was nobody’s fool when it came to money.6gooseberry/strawberry etc fool British English a sweet food made of soft cooked fruit mixed with cream7more fool you/him etc British English spoken used to say that you think someone was stupid to do something, and it is their own fault if this causes trouble: ‘Jim smashed up my car.’ ‘More fool you for letting him borrow it!’8not suffer fools gladly if you say that someone doesn’t suffer fools gladly, they do not have any patience with people who they think are stupid9be living in a fool’s paradise to feel happy and satisfied, and believe there are no problems, when in fact this is not true10play/act the fool to behave in a silly way, especially in order to make people laugh: Stop playing the fool! You’ll fall.11(send somebody on) a fool’s errand to make someone go somewhere or do something for no good reason12fools rush in (where angels fear to tread) used to say that people are stupid if they do something immediately without thinking about it first13a fool and his money are soon parted used to say that stupid people spend money quickly without thinking about it14entertainer [countable] a man whose job was to entertain a king or other powerful people in the past, by doing tricks, singing funny songs etc SYN jester → April foolfool1 nounfool2 verbfool3 adjective
foolfool2 ●○○ verb VERB TABLE
fool
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | fool |
| he, she, it | fools | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | fooled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have fooled |
| he, she, it | has fooled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had fooled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will fool |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have fooled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am fooling |
| he, she, it | is fooling | |
| you, we, they | are fooling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was fooling |
| you, we, they | were fooling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been fooling |
| he, she, it | has been fooling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been fooling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be fooling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been fooling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- His hairpiece doesn't fool anyone.
- Maybe I was just fooling myself, but I really thought he liked me.
- The brothers' act had us all fooled.
- The recording fooled the enemy about troop movements.
- They managed to fool the police into thinking they had left the country.
- You can't fool me - I know he's already given you the money.
- All I can say having watched Torvill and Dean's peerless and emotional performances ... you could have fooled me.
- Did, did you fool with your crab meat yet?
- Do you think you can fool me, Armagnac at sunset?
- Dominic was just fooling around - flirting.
- He is also a deeply private person whose kindly, smiling face could fool you.
- It would have fooled me, let alone a buffalo.
- They are not fooled by women who pretend to love sports.
THESAURUS
especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.
informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true: · I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.
Longman Language Activatorto trick someone and make them believe something that is not true to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something: · I realized then that I had been tricked, but it was too late.· I'm not trying to trick you - just answer the question.trick somebody into doing something: · The old man's sons had tricked him into signing the papers.trick somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · A man posing as an insurance agent tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
informal to trick someone: · He was trying to con me, and I knew it.con somebody into doing something: · They conned the school district into buying the property.con somebody out of something (=take something from someone by tricking them): · She conned me out of $50.
especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true because it is useful for you if they believe it: · This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.· Many children's lies are unplanned and not actually designed to deceive.· All through the summer Paula was deceiving her husband while she was seeing another man.deceive somebody into doing something: · Thousands of home buyers were deceived into buying homes at inflated prices.deceive yourself: · If you think that everyone is happy with the plan, you're deceiving yourself.
to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick: · His hairpiece doesn't fool anyone.fool somebody into doing something: · They managed to fool the police into thinking they had left the country.have somebody fooled: · The brothers' act had us all fooled.you can't fool me spoken: · You can't fool me - I know he's already given you the money.fool yourself: · Maybe I was just fooling myself, but I really thought he liked me.
to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true: · The report is a deliberate and obvious attempt to mislead.· They were accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of their product.mislead somebody into doing something: · Agents are accused of misleading clients into signing up for savings plans that were actually insurance policies.
to trick someone into doing something that they will be punished for or embarrassed by: · He said, following his arrest last fall, that the FBI had set him up.· Terry and Donald think I set them up, but it's all a big misunderstanding.
informal to deceive someone, especially someone who is cleverer than you are, or someone who is not easily deceived: · That's the last time he puts one over on me!· Lawyers claim that the tobacco industry, by failing to tell everything it knew about smoking, was putting one over on its customers.
informal to deceive someone, usually by hiding some facts or information: · Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes - I can tell you've been smoking.· The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.
to make someone believe you and trust you, especially by making them think you are romantically interested in them: · I can't tell if he really cares about me or if he's just leading me on?· I didn't mean to lead Cassie on, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings either.
informal to deceive someone, especially so that you can get their money: · I'd already given him £50 when I realized he was taking me for a ride.· After the deal was signed, I felt like I'd been taken for a ride.
to cheat someone you pretended to be helping or working with, especially by helping their enemies: · I'm warning you - if you double-cross me, I'll kill you.· Harry and Danny double-crossed the gang and escaped with all the money.
informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else's dishonest activity without realizing it: · The spies duped government and military officials alike.dupe somebody into doing something: · The perpetrators of the hoax managed to dupe respectable journalists into printing their story.
to be tricked or deceived by someone · He knew he'd been tricked, but it was too late to do anything.be tricked/deceived by · Don't feel bad - you weren't the only one who was deceived by his lies.
to be deceived by someone's words or behaviour, so that you believe something about them that is not true: · He seemed so confident, that I was completely taken in.be taken in by: · We were all taken in by the scheme and invested far more money than we should have.
to stupidly believe something that is untrue and is intended to deceive you: · Doug is too clever to fall for a story like that!· She completely fell for his nonsense about being rich and famous.
to be deceived by someone's behaviour, words, or appearance, especially when the result is not serious: · Don't let yourself be fooled - she's not as nice as she seems.be fooled by: · A lot of people were fooled by what he said, but I was sure he was lying.
to be tricked into doing something that results in you being punished or embarrassed: · I'm innocent! I was set up!be set up by: · The young man's claim that he had been set up by the police was eventually supported by several witnesses.
to be deceived by someone, especially so that you become involved in their dishonest activity without realizing it: · When the police arrived to arrest her, she realized she had been duped.be duped by: · Richie couldn't believe he had been set up and duped by his friends.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY You can’t fool me with that old excuse.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
You can’t fool me with that old excuse. Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.· Some other species are easily fooled by artificial light.· It won't be fooled easily.· We are not so easily fooled by reflections in lakes or puddles.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a prize idiot/fool
1[transitive] to trick someone into believing something that is not true: - Although a Pep Squad can sometimes fool the world, it can rarely fool itself.
- First a drive, he thought, headed anywhere, fooling himself into thinking he might simply keep going.
- However, the probabilities are that you are fooling yourself.
- It was as though he had been fooling himself all along.
- Lindsey knew she had been fooling herself in thinking she could remain indifferent.
- The stories of Blake and the various defectors show how easily the intelligence fraternity fools itself.
- This was my way of fooling myself, perhaps.
- We fool ourselves by thinking we can go on automatic pilot, that we can survive by going through the motions.
- "Look, we're doing our best to fix it." "Well, you could have fooled me."
- Don't pay any attention to Henry. He's just fooling.
- Am I to be troubled by a skinny old fool in mirror shades?
- An old fool if you like.
- But then the old fool should have been a little less unwashed and boring.
- He was no more to her, he thought, than a tiresome old man, an old fool.
- Look there that old fool Broom, slipped off to sleep.
- She thought what an undecided old fool Phoebe was, but it made her outburst at the Frolic all the more courageous.
- The old bats included a plastic, an aluminum and a wooden one.
- A year before he had, but that year had changed him, eliminated the sentiment and made him a perfect stranger.
- Again he was a person, no longer a perfect stranger.
- Asked to stand guard over good or treasure, they would good-naturedly hand everything over to a perfect stranger.
- I was then to ask what people thought about being smiled at by a perfect stranger.
- She turned into an expert at coaxing food and lodging invitations out of perfect strangers.
- Some oranges in a commune, like perfect strangers, dwell upon their own navels, untransformed.
- They put money on the table, too, perfect strangers expressing unmistakable monetary interest in the Tonelli Nation.
- A tall, fast-talking southerner whose accent still lingers despite her years in the north, Porter does not suffer fools gladly.
- Mr Fallon has been described as the kind of man who does not suffer fools gladly.
- She was a forceful personality who did not suffer fools gladly, but her sternness was accompanied by grace and Victorian courtesy.
Even art experts were fooled.you don’t/can’t fool me You can’t fool me with that old excuse.be fooled by something Don’t be fooled by appearances.fool somebody into doing something I was fooled into believing their promises.2fool yourself to try to make yourself believe something that you know is not really true: It’s no good fooling yourself. He’s not coming back.3you could have fooled me spoken used to show that you do not believe what someone has told you: ‘Look, we’re doing our best to fix it.’ ‘Well, you could have fooled me.’4somebody is just fooling spoken used to say that someone is not serious and is only pretending that something is true SYN somebody is just kidding: Don’t pay any attention to Henry. He’s just fooling.fool around (also fool about British English) phrasal verb1to waste time behaving in a silly way or doing things that are not important SYN mess around: He always used to fool around in class.2to behave in a way which is careless and not responsible SYN mess aroundfool around with Some idiot’s been fooling around with the electricity supply!3American English to spend time doing something that you enjoy, but that does not have a particular purpose SYN mess around: The boys were out in the yard, just fooling around.4to have a sexual relationship with someone else’s wife, boyfriend etc SYN mess around: She found out that he’d been fooling around behind her back.fool with something phrasal verb American English informal1to touch or play with something, especially when you should not SYN mess with something: Who’s been fooling with the radio dial?2to become involved in something which could cause damage or be dangerous SYN mess with somethingfool1 nounfool2 verbfool3 adjective
foolfool3 adjective [only before noun] American English informal EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- I tell you, the whole fool scheme is worth trying, just for the sake of this last part.
- Look there that old fool Broom, slipped off to sleep.
- What that fool box might teach us about the world is breathtaking to consider.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.
Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate. He played the fool (=behaved in a silly way) at school instead of working.PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a prize idiot/fool
silly or stupid SYN foolish: - Am I to be troubled by a skinny old fool in mirror shades?
- An old fool if you like.
- But then the old fool should have been a little less unwashed and boring.
- He was no more to her, he thought, than a tiresome old man, an old fool.
- Look there that old fool Broom, slipped off to sleep.
- She thought what an undecided old fool Phoebe was, but it made her outburst at the Frolic all the more courageous.
- The old bats included a plastic, an aluminum and a wooden one.
- A year before he had, but that year had changed him, eliminated the sentiment and made him a perfect stranger.
- Again he was a person, no longer a perfect stranger.
- Asked to stand guard over good or treasure, they would good-naturedly hand everything over to a perfect stranger.
- I was then to ask what people thought about being smiled at by a perfect stranger.
- She turned into an expert at coaxing food and lodging invitations out of perfect strangers.
- Some oranges in a commune, like perfect strangers, dwell upon their own navels, untransformed.
- They put money on the table, too, perfect strangers expressing unmistakable monetary interest in the Tonelli Nation.
- A tall, fast-talking southerner whose accent still lingers despite her years in the north, Porter does not suffer fools gladly.
- Mr Fallon has been described as the kind of man who does not suffer fools gladly.
- She was a forceful personality who did not suffer fools gladly, but her sternness was accompanied by grace and Victorian courtesy.
What did you say a fool thing like that for?