What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Fool vs Freak - What's the difference?

fool | freak |

As nouns the difference between fool and freak

is that fool is (pejorative) a person with poor judgment or little intelligence while freak is a man, particularly a bold, strong, vigorous man or freak can be a sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice.

As verbs the difference between fool and freak

is that fool is to trick; to make a fool of someone while freak is to make greatly distressed and/or a discomposed appearance.

As an adjective freak is

strange, weird.

fool

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (pejorative) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
    • You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.
    The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.
  • * Franklin
    • Experience keeps a dear school, but fools' will learn in no ' other .
  • (historical) A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
  • (informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
  • * Milton
    • Can they think me their fool or jester?
  • * 1975 , , "Fool for the City" (song), Fool for the City (album):
    • I'm a fool for the city.
  • (cooking) A type of dessert made of d fruit and custard or cream.
    • an apricot fool'''; a gooseberry '''fool
  • A particular card in a tarot deck.

    • Synonyms

    * (person with poor judgment) See also * (person who entertained a sovereign) jester, joker * (person who talks a lot of nonsense) gobshite

    Verb

  • To trick; to make a fool of someone.
  • To play the fool; to trifle; to toy; to spend time in idle sport or mirth.
  • * Dryden
    • Is this a time for fooling ?

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * befool * fool about * fool around * foolhardy * foolish * foolishness * foolometer * fool's errand * fool's gold * fool's paradise * foolproof * more fool you * play the fool * suffer fools gladly * there's no fool like an old fool

    References

    1000 English basic words ----

    freak

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (obsolete) * (l), (l), (l) (Scotland)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) freke, .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A man, particularly a bold, strong, vigorous man.
  • A fellow; a petulant, young man.

    • Etymology 2

    1560, "sudden change of mind, whim", of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice.
  • Someone or something that is markedly unusual.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • A hippie.
  • * {{quote-journal
    • , year = 1969 (but cites 1971 source) , first = Paul A. , last = Eschholz , title = Freak compounds for 'argot freaks' , journal = American Speech , volume = 44 , issue = 4 , url = , page = 306-07 , passage = When long-haired, outlandishly dressed, drug-using hippies pilgrimaged to Haight-Ashbury in the early 1960s, they were quickly dubbed freaks'''''; the pejorative appellation was both obvious and intended. It was not long before '''''freak''''' had become practically synonymous with ''hippie''. It seems, however, that with the acceptance of long hair, the appearance and popularity of some rather bizarre fashions, and the emphasis placed upon "doing one's own thing," '''''freak is no longer burdened with all of its former derogatory associations. Instead ... the word is beginning to acquire a quality which is favorable, glamorous, and somehow even admirable. }}
  • A drug addict.
  • * {{quote-journal
    • , year = 1969 (but cites 1971 source) , first = Paul A. , last = Eschholz , title = Freak compounds for "argot freaks" , journal = American Speech , volume = 44 , issue = 4 , url = , page = 306-07 , passage = Smith and Sturges [June 1969] note in their study of the San Francisco drug scene that freak means "anyone addicted to drugs." }}
  • (of a person) A nonconformist, especially in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or business practices; an oddball, especially in physiology (i.e., "circus freak"); unique, sometimes in a displeasing way.
  • (bodybuilding) A person whose physique has grown far beyond the normal limits of muscular development; often a bodybuilder weighing more than 120 kilos (260 pounds).
  • An enthusiast, or person who has an obsession with, or extreme knowledge of, something.
  • * {{quote-journal
    • , year = 1968 , first = Fred , last = Davis , coauthors = Laura Munoz , title = Heads and freaks: patterns and meanings of drug use among hippies , journal = Journal of Health and Social Behavior , volume = 9 , issue = 2 , url = , page = 156-64 , passage = Anyone ... who seems "hung up" on some idea, activity or interactional disposition, might be called a "freak ." }}
  • * {{quote-journal
    • , year = 1969 (but cites 1971 source) , first = Paul A. , last = Eschholz , title = Freak compounds for "argot freaks" , journal = American Speech , volume = 44 , issue = 4 , url = , page = 306-07 , passage = Presently ... college students ... use freak to denote any kind of enthusiast. }}
    Bob's a real video-game freak . He owns every games console of the last ten years.
  • (informal, sometimes, affectionate) A very sexually perverse individual.
    • She's a freak in the sack!
    Synonyms
    * (sudden change) whim * (sudden change) caprice
    Derived terms
    * fly the freak flag * freak accident * freak flag * freak of nature * freakishly * freaky

    External links

    * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make greatly distressed and/or a discomposed appearance
  • * 1994 , James Earl Hardy, B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-On-Black Love Story , (Alyson Publishing), page 107
    • But after one night turned into five days, I was freaking out. I missed him.
  • To be placed or place someone under the influence of a psychedelic drug
  • * 1992 , Peter G. Stafford, Psychedelics Encyclopedia , (Ronin Publishing), page 56
  • To streak; to variegate
  • * 1930 , Robert Seymour Bridges, The Testament of Beauty: A Poem in Four Books , (Literary Criticism), page 20
  • * Thomson
    • Freaked with many a mingled hue.
  • To experience reality withdrawal, or hallucinations (nightmarish), to behave irrational or unconventional due to drug use.
  • To react extremely or irrationally, usually under distress or discomposure
    • * Bulgarian: (trans-mid) (trans-bottom)
    Derived terms
    * freak out

    Adjective

    (-)
  • strange, weird
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=April 15 , author=Saj Chowdhury , title=Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=A freak goal gave Forest the lead when a clearance by keeper John Ruddy bounced off Nathan Tyson and flew in.}} * Bulgarian: (trans-mid) (trans-bottom)

    Anagrams

    *