Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A clown; a jester.
- noun A person given to clowning and joking.
- noun A ludicrous or bumbling person; a fool.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who makes a practice of amusing others by tricks, odd gestures and postures, jokes, and other vulgar pleasantries; a droll; a merryandrew; a clown; a jester.
- noun Synonyms See
zany . - Characteristic of a buffoon; buffoonish.
- To act the part of a buffoon.
- To make ridiculous.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A man who makes a practice of amusing others by low tricks, antic gestures, etc.; a droll; a mimic; a harlequin; a clown; a merry-andrew.
- adjective Characteristic of, or like, a buffoon.
- transitive verb To treat with buffoonery.
- intransitive verb rare To act the part of a buffoon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who acts in a
silly orridiculous fashion; aclown orfool . - noun pejorative An unintentionally ridiculous person.
- verb To behave like a buffoon
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a rude or vulgar fool
- noun a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word buffoon.
Examples
-
This buffoon is the most self-centered idiot I have ever seen or heard.
Think Progress » O’Reilly Claims He Is Personally Responsible For Lower Gas Prices 2005
-
I know you love Al Gore but the buffoon is gone, even his home state didn't want him.
-
And ElBruce, trying to say stupid or buffoon is a substitute for a racist term is borderline libel.
-
Now I can add, What makes you think this scolding buffoon is going to win anything except, perhaps, a kiss on the cheek from Ralph Nader?
Food and Drink 2009
-
Why anyone would even think of interviewing this loser & lying buffoon is beyond me.
Think Progress » Gingrich: If Republicans Shut Down The Government, It Will Be Obama’s Fault 2010
-
I know you love Al Gore but the buffoon is gone, even his home state didn't want him.
-
This ignorant buffoon is a huge embarassment to his state and this country.
-
Any Dem who thinks this buffoon is going to reach across the aisle as he comes out of the gate is deluded.
Think Progress » Why Scott Brown Cannot Be Trusted To Work Proactively To Reform Health Care 2010
-
Joe Wilson is a boring buffoon from a district where the federal pork barrel has been flowing for years but, that could stop in a hurry with such an idiot representing the district.
Heckler Wilson 'a decent guy' with lock on district, observers say 2009
-
I think it boils down to the simple precept that the man is a friggin buffoon and his mouth has a tendency to get several steps ahead of his brain.
marky commented on the word buffoon
i just realized i've been spelling buffoon wrong my entire life (spelling it baffoon). i feel like such a buffoon now. *facepalm* *wordnik crisis*
March 29, 2013
ruzuzu commented on the word buffoon
No worries--we'll just calmly add a madeupical definition in the comments over on baffoon. Something about how it combines the meanings for buffoon and baboon, perhaps?
March 29, 2013
marky commented on the word buffoon
yes ruzuzu that's exactly what happened. gettin my baboons and buffoons all mixed up :P
March 29, 2013