Fool or full?
fool is a noun meaning “A person with poor judgment or little intelligence”; full is an adjective meaning “Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available”. Use fool as a noun and full as an adjective (full is also a noun: “Utmost measure or extent; highest state or degree; the…”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) full is about 18 times as common as fool.
What is the difference between fool and full?
| fool | full | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective | adjective, adverb, noun, verb, suffix |
| Meaning | A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages) A stock character typified by unintelligence, naïveté or lucklessness, usually as a form of comic relief; often used as a source of insight or pathos for the… To trick; to deceive | Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available Complete; with nothing omitted Utmost measure or extent; highest state or degree; the state, position, or moment of fullness; fill |
| Example | You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking | The jugs were full to the point of overflowing |
| Forms | fools | fuller, fullest |
| Pronunciation | /fuːl/ /fʉwl/ [fʊwl] | /fʊl/ [fʊɫ] /fʉl/ |
| In writing | 19 times per million words | 347 times per million words |
Sources: fool and full in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of fool and full
fool
- 1
derogatoryA person with poor judgment or little intelligence
You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking
- 2
To trick; to deceive
- 3
informalFoolish
- 4
A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream
an apricot fool; a gooseberry fool
- 5
A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages)
- 6
To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly
- 7
A stock character typified by unintelligence, naïveté or lucklessness, usually as a form of comic relief; often used as a source of insight or pathos for the audience, as such characters are…
- 8
Someone who has been made a fool of or tricked; dupe
full
- 1
Containing the maximum possible amount that can fit in the space available
The jugs were full to the point of overflowing
- 2
Utmost measure or extent; highest state or degree; the state, position, or moment of fullness; fill
I was fed to the full
- 3
To become full or wholly illuminated
- 4
To baptise
- 5
To make cloth denser and firmer by soaking, beating and pressing; to waulk or walk
- 6
Now uncommon spelling of -ful
bowl-full
- 7
Complete; with nothing omitted
Our book gives full treatment to the subject of angling
- 8
The phase of the moon when its entire face is illuminated, full moon
It is like, that the brain of man waxeth moister and fuller upon the full of the moon: …
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, fool or full?
fool appears 19 times per million words; full 347 times per million words.
fool 19 times per million wordsfull 347 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).