fool

noun, verb, adjective

1 [C] a person who you think behaves or speaks in a way that lacks intelligence or good judgement SYNIDIOT: Don't be such a fool! * I felt a fool when I realized my mistake. * He told me he was an actor and I was fool enough to believe him. 2 [C] (in the past) a man employed by a king or queen to entertain people by telling jokes, singing songs, etc. SYNJESTER 3 [U,C] (BrE) (usually in compounds) a cold light DESSERT (= a sweet dish) made from fruit that is cooked and crushed and mixed with cream or CUSTARD: rhubarb fool IDIOMS act / play the fool to behave in a stupid way in order to make people laugh, especially in a way that may also annoy them: Quit playing the fool and get some work done! any fool can / could... (spoken) used to say that sth is very easy to do: Any fool could tell she was lying. be no / nobody's fool to be too intelligent or know too much about sth to be tricked by other people: She's nobody's fool when it comes to dealing with difficult patients. make a fool of sb to say or do sth deliberately so that people will think that sb is stupid: Can't you see she's making a fool of you? * I will not be made a fool of like this. make a fool of yourself to do sth stupid which makes other people think that you are a fool: I made a complete fool of myself in front of everyone! more fool sb (for doing sth) (spoken) used to say that you think that sb was stupid to do sth, especially when it causes them problems: 'He's not an easy person to live with.' 'More fool her for marrying him!' * 'I know I shouldn't have given him the money, but I did.' 'More fool you!' moreatSUFFER

1 [VN] ~ sb (into doing sth) to trick sb into believing sth that is not true: She certainly had me fooled-I really believed her! * You don't fool me! * You're fooling yourself if you think none of this will affect you. * Don't be fooled into thinking they're going to change anything. 2 [V] ~ (about / around) (with sth) to say or do stupid or silly things, often in order to make people laugh: Stop fooling around and sit down! * If you fool about with matches, you'll end up getting burned. IDIOMS you could have fooled me (spoken) used to say that you do not believe sth that sb has just told you: 'I'm trying as hard as I can!' 'You could have fooled me!' PHRASALVERBS fool around 1 (BrE also fool about) to waste time instead of doing sth that you should be doing 2 ~ (with sb) to have a sexual relationship with another person's partner; to have a sexual relationship with sb who is not your partner: She's been fooling around with a married man. adjective [onlybeforenoun] (informal) stupid; FOOLISH: That was a damn fool thing to do! * That fool husband of mine locked us out of the house.