fool

n

1. ninny, nincompoop, silly, silly billy, Sl. yo-yo, tomfool; simpleton, Simple Simon, saphead, noodle, idiot, cuckoo, Inf. jay, Sl. jerk, imbecile, mooncalf, Inf. moron; dimwit, nitwit, half-wit, Sl. zombie, goose; scatterbrain, Sl. birdbrain, Sl. flake, rattlehead, rattlebrain, rattlepate, harebrain, Sl. dingbat, Sl. ding-a-ling; featherbrain, addle-brain, addle-head, addle-pate, pinhead; dolt, clod, oaf, dunce, Inf. chump, Inf. coot, dullard, Inf. numskull; dope, booby, Inf. dummy, Sl. dumbbell, Sl. meatball or meathead; blockhead, beetlehead, bonehead, dunderhead, dunderpate, chucklehead, Sl. dumbhead, Sl. lunkhead, Inf. knucklehead, Sl. stupidhead; donkey, ass, lubber, lout; ignoramus, know-nothing, lowbrow, illiterate.

2. jester, clown, Archaic. antic, zany, buffoon, droll, jokester, Inf. stooge, wiseacre, merry-andrew; scaramouch, punchinello, pierrot, harlequin, punch.

3. dupe, gull, Brit. Dial. cull, Sl. pigeon; butt, sap, gudgeon, tool, cat's paw; sucker, victim, easy mark, fall guy, sitting duck, Inf. goat; pushover, cinch, greenhorn.

4. be nobody’s fool

be wise, be sagacious; be shrewd, be astute, be sharp, be canny; be sly, Sl. savvy, be cunning, be crafty; be perceptive, be discerning, be perspicacious.

v

5. befool, make a fool of, spoof, play a trick on, play a joke on, kid; trick, deceive, humbug, delude, con, cheat, beguile, cozen, do, take in; hoodwink, blindfold, bluff, throw dust into the eyes, pull the wool over [s.o.'s] eyes, bamboozle; mislead, misguide, misdirect, lead astray, give a bum steer, misinform; swindle, defraud, finagle, pluck, fleece, bilk; victimize, hoax, dupe, gull, pigeon, Sl. hornswoggle, Inf. flimflam, Inf. diddle; circumvent, get around, overreach.

6. jest, joke, banter, tease, trifle with, spoof, josh, jive, put [s.o.] on; gibe, jeer, mock, deride, scoff, taunt; act the fool, play the monkey.

7. pretend, make believe, feign, act, play; stage, simulate, sham, counterfeit, fake.

8. fool around

squander, waste, run through, throw away, fritter away; dissipate, deplete, exhaust, expend, misspend.

9. fool with

toy with, trifle with, meddle with, tamper with, mess in or with, monkey around or with, dabble with or in, palter with, dally with, fiddle with.