buffoon

(redirected from buffoons)
Also found in: Thesaurus.

buf·foon

 (bə-fo͞on′)
n.
1. A clown; a jester: a court buffoon.
2. A person given to clowning and joking.
3. A ludicrous or bumbling person; a fool.

[French bouffon, from Old Italian buffone, from buffa, jest, from buffare, to puff, of imitative origin.]

buf·foon′er·y (bə-fo͞o′nə-rē) n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

buffoon

(bəˈfuːn)
n
1. a person who amuses others by ridiculous or odd behaviour, jokes, etc
2. a foolish person
[C16: from French bouffon, from Italian buffone, from Medieval Latin būfō, from Latin: toad]
bufˈfoonery n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

buf•foon

(bəˈfun)

n.
1. a person who amuses others by jokes, pranks, etc.
2. a person given to coarse or offensive joking.
[1540–50; earlier buffon < French < Italian buffone=buff- (expressive base) + -one agent suffix]
buf•foon′er•y, n.
buf•foon′ish, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.buffoon - a rude or vulgar foolbuffoon - a rude or vulgar fool    
fool, muggins, saphead, tomfool, sap - a person who lacks good judgment
2.buffoon - a person who amuses others by ridiculous behaviorbuffoon - a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
comedian, comic - a professional performer who tells jokes and performs comical acts
harlequin - a clown or buffoon (after the Harlequin character in the commedia dell'arte)
jester, motley fool, fool - a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
whiteface - a clown whose face is covered with white make-up
zany - a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

buffoon

noun clown, fool, comic, comedian, wag, joker, jester, dag (N.Z. informal), harlequin, droll, silly billy (informal), joculator or (fem.) joculatrix, merry-andrew a drunken buffoon
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
ilveilijänarripelle

buffoon

[bəˈfuːn] Nbufón m, payaso m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

buffoon

[bʌˈfuːn] nbouffon m, pitre m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

buffoon

nClown m; (stupid) → Blödmann m (pej inf); to act or play the buffoonden Clown or Hanswurst spielen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

buffoon

[bəˈfuːn] nbuffone/a
to play the buffoon → fare il/la buffone/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Look at the faces of the actors and buffoons when they come off from their business; and Tom Fool washing the paint off his cheeks before he sits down to dinner with his wife and the little Jack Puddings behind the canvas.
There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine.
She must not be touched by the buffoons, nor by the ignorant vulgar, incapable of comprehending or appreciating her hidden treasures.
At a country fair there was a Buffoon who made all the people laugh by imitating the cries of various animals.
When he was just midway across, the little door opened once more, and a gaudily-dressed fellow like a buffoon sprang out, and went rapidly after the first one.
Sombre is human life, and as yet without meaning: a buffoon may be fateful to it.
Nature had made him a buffoon. He was a painter, but a very bad one, whom I had met in Rome, and I still remembered his pictures.
Now we find the poets never represent Jupiter himself as singing and playing; nay, we ourselves treat the professors of these arts as mean people, and say that no one would practise them but a drunkard or a buffoon. But probably we may consider this subject more at large hereafter.
"If you, sir, choose to make a buffoon of yourself," he said sharply, with a slight trembling of the lower jaw, "I can't prevent your doing so; but I warn you that if you dare to play the fool in my presence, I will teach you to behave yourself."
On Mr Johnson working with President Trump, Ms Maiden added: "Two buffoons to-gether, it will be like a zoo, I dread to think what will happen."
It's not a coincidence that a group of buffoons is called a congress!