oaf
noun
ˈōf 
plural oafs
1
: a stupid person : boob
a thoughtless, clueless oaf 
New York Times
New York Times2
: a big clumsy slow-witted person
Get out of my way, you big oaf.
oafish
ˈō-fish
adjective oafishly adverb
oafishness noun
Did you know?
Oaf Has a Fanciful History
A long time ago in England, it was believed that elves sometimes secretly exchanged their babies for human babies. This was used as an explanation when parents found themselves with a baby that failed to meet expectations or desires: these parents believed that their real baby had been stolen by elves and that a changeling had been left in its place. The label for such a child was auf, or alfe, (meaning "an elf's or a goblin's child"), which was later altered to form our present-day oaf. Although the linguistic history is not entirely clear, auf is likely from the Middle English alven, elven, meaning "elf" or "fairy." Today, the word oaf is no longer associated with babies and is instead applied to anyone who appears especially unintelligent or graceless.
Synonyms
- clod
- clodhopper
- gawk
- hulk
- lout
- lubber
- lug
- lump
- Neanderthal
- palooka
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
it's not polite to call your brother a stupid oaf anyone who took him for an oaf and tried to cheat him would be in for a nasty surprise
Recent Examples on the Web Jeremy Allen White stars as a famous chef who returns to Chicago to take over his late brother’s beef joint, and he and his new co-workers — including Ayo Edebiri’s newcomer and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s stubborn oaf — form a system that, usually, works. Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022 Austin Theory’s character is literally an oaf who made another foolish decision that led to Johnny Gargano’s loss. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2021 Nowhere in Hansen’s pages is the impulsive, autocratic oaf seen by many of Castro’s critics. Steve Donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2019 Love truly is an open door with this inflatable oaf. Isabel Garcia, House Beautiful, 4 Dec. 2019 No one who touched the ball in the opposing penalty area as often as Kane was as good at not losing possession, showing that a target man doesn’t have to be a lumbering oaf whose primary skill is measuring in at over 6-foot-3. Jonathan Clegg, WSJ, 18 June 2018 For us straight dudes, however, being big and hairy means getting thought of as an ape—a big, dumb, smelly oaf. Dan Savage, Chicago Reader, 7 Feb. 2018 In Fitzpatrick, Doyle has created an extraordinarily creepy antagonist: a bully who plays dumb but always gets under the hero’s skin, a clumsy oaf who nevertheless can disappear like a cat into the darkness. J. Robert Lennon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2017 Though comic buffoons and yokels are scattered through a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Lear’s universe is relentlessly bleak, and the Fool, despite his jingling, is neither oaf nor jester. Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017 See More
Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022 Austin Theory’s character is literally an oaf who made another foolish decision that led to Johnny Gargano’s loss. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2021 Nowhere in Hansen’s pages is the impulsive, autocratic oaf seen by many of Castro’s critics. Steve Donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2019 Love truly is an open door with this inflatable oaf. Isabel Garcia, House Beautiful, 4 Dec. 2019 No one who touched the ball in the opposing penalty area as often as Kane was as good at not losing possession, showing that a target man doesn’t have to be a lumbering oaf whose primary skill is measuring in at over 6-foot-3. Jonathan Clegg, WSJ, 18 June 2018 For us straight dudes, however, being big and hairy means getting thought of as an ape—a big, dumb, smelly oaf. Dan Savage, Chicago Reader, 7 Feb. 2018 In Fitzpatrick, Doyle has created an extraordinarily creepy antagonist: a bully who plays dumb but always gets under the hero’s skin, a clumsy oaf who nevertheless can disappear like a cat into the darkness. J. Robert Lennon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2017 Though comic buffoons and yokels are scattered through a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Lear’s universe is relentlessly bleak, and the Fool, despite his jingling, is neither oaf nor jester. Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
alteration of auf, alfe goblin's child, probably from Middle English alven, elven elf, fairy, from Old English elfen nymphs; akin to Old English ælf elf — more at elf
First Known Use
1682, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
oaf
noun
ˈōf
: a stupid or awkward person
oafs
noun
1
as in idiots
a big clumsy often slow-witted person it's not polite to call your brother a stupid oaf Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- idiots
- hulks
- morons
- losers
- lumps
- louts
- brutes
- mutts
- clowns
- villains
- clods
- lunatics
- geese
- skunks
- clodhoppers
- lubbers
- palookas
- beasts
- skunk
- turkeys
- stupids
- gawks
- fools
- prats
- snakes
- turkeys
- nuts
- lugs
- blunderers
- dummies
- creeps
- imbeciles
- dolts
- chumps
- dullards
- yahoos
- blockheads
- heels
- boors
- dunderheads
- dimwits
- lunkheads
- knuckleheads
- simps
- ninnies
- numskulls
- galoots
- ignoramuses
- dunces
- donkeys
- simpletons
- rogues
- cads
- schlemiels
- dopes
- Neanderthals
- meatheads
- boneheads
- chuckleheads
- stocks
- goons
- nitwits
- pinheads
- jackasses
- cretins
- fatheads
- naturals
- numbskulls
- nimrods
- loons
- nincompoops
- madmen
- doofuses
- airheads
- deadheads
- stupes
- schlubs
- hardheads
- slouches
- churls
- curs
- dorks
- apes
- goofs
- shlubs
- noddies
- ganders
- ratbags
- tykes
- ignorami
- stinkers
- anthropoids
- loonies
- rascals
- know-nothings
- bubbleheads
- golems
- louses
- half-wits
- birdbrains
- clucks
- dips
- scatterbrains
- boobies
- dumbbells
- noodles
- scamps
- clunks
- hammerheads
- sapheads
- loggerheads
- chowderheads
- nits
- lamebrains
- tikes
- shlemiels
- dodos
- dum-dums
- clots
- mugs
- schnooks
- momes
- cuddies
- dim bulbs
- clodpoles
- ninnyhammers
- dumbheads
- dummkopfs
- dufuses
- thickheads
- clodpolls
- woodenheads
- dodoes
- yo-yos
- featherbrains
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- intellectuals
- thinkers
- brains
- geniuses
- genii
- sages
- wizards
- brainiacs
- whizzes
2
as in morons
a stupid person anyone who took him for an oaf and tried to cheat him would be in for a nasty surprise Synonyms & Similar Words
- idiots
- morons
- prats
- lunatics
- stupids
- fools
- imbeciles
- dummies
- dolts
- losers
- dullards
- mutts
- geese
- blockheads
- dunderheads
- dimwits
- lunkheads
- knuckleheads
- ninnies
- numskulls
- ignoramuses
- yahoos
- dunces
- simpletons
- dopes
- cretins
- donkeys
- meatheads
- boneheads
- chuckleheads
- goons
- pinheads
- nitwits
- jackasses
- fatheads
- schlubs
- numbskulls
- loons
- nimrods
- nincompoops
- airheads
- doofuses
- deadheads
- stupes
- jerks
- hardheads
- naturals
- dorks
- goofs
- noddies
- shlubs
- turkeys
- ganders
- buffoons
- clowns
- ratbags
- ignorami
- know-nothings
- bubbleheads
- golems
- half-wits
- birdbrains
- clucks
- lumps
- dumbbells
- noodles
- clunks
- hammerheads
- sapheads
- loggerheads
- chowderheads
- schnooks
- villains
- lamebrains
- dips
- stocks
- nuts
- dumbheads
- thickheads
- madmen
- dodos
- dum-dums
- clots
- nits
- dumb clucks
- momes
- skunks
- cuddies
- dim bulbs
- clodpoles
- ninnyhammers
- loonies
- skunk
- dummkopfs
- dufuses
- zanies
- clodpolls
- woodenheads
- dodoes
- snakes
- boobies
- boors
- mugs
- beasts
- yo-yos
- cads
- scatterbrains
- gawks
- creeps
- curs
- churls
- stinkers
- heels
- featherbrains
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- brains
- geniuses
- genii
- intellectuals
- thinkers
- intellects
- sages
- wizards
- whizzes
- polymaths
- sharpies
- Renaissance men