1
as in hulk
a big clumsy often slow-witted person
it's not polite to call your brother a stupid oaf
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2
as in idiot
a stupid person
anyone who took him for an oaf and tried to cheat him would be in for a nasty surprise
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Recent Examples of oaf
Curry in particular is well known for portraying villains (It, Ferngully, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but doesn't always strike the right balance as the loveable patriarchal oaf.
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Lee Escobedo, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2022
Adding Paul into the mix as a bumbling oaf (and not even a particularly lovable one) creates an unnecessary love triangle.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2022
Jeremy Allen White stars as a famous chef who returns to Chicago to take over his late brother’s beef joint, and he and his new co-workers — including Ayo Edebiri’s newcomer and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s stubborn oaf — form a system that, usually, works.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022
Austin Theory’s character is literally an oaf who made another foolish decision that led to Johnny Gargano’s loss.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2021
See all Example Sentences for oaf 
Lee Escobedo, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2022
Adding Paul into the mix as a bumbling oaf (and not even a particularly lovable one) creates an unnecessary love triangle.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2022
Jeremy Allen White stars as a famous chef who returns to Chicago to take over his late brother’s beef joint, and he and his new co-workers — including Ayo Edebiri’s newcomer and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s stubborn oaf — form a system that, usually, works.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2022
Austin Theory’s character is literally an oaf who made another foolish decision that led to Johnny Gargano’s loss.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2021
See all Example Sentences for oaf
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oaf
Noun
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Kadyrov’s fighters were instrumental in the final assault on Donetsk Airport in January, having fought for months to capture the wrecked hulk of buildings that once made up the passenger terminals.Nicholas Waller, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2015
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There were literal piles of dead and mangled Russians around the smoldering hulks.David Axe, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Green Bay, losers of two straight games, opened as a 3.5-point underdog, but that line has climbed to 4.5 points this week.Rob Reischel, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
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That would encourage a new period of aggression by Russia, China, North Korea, and a nuclear-capable Iran, in which America — and Trump — will be the losers.Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2025
Noun
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An underrated gem — not enough people have seen this top-tier season — Squirrels Trip has some fabulous vocals, very funny lyrics, a heavy dose of stupid, and an engaging story.Barry Levitt, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024
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The stupid!Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 July 2021
Noun
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Variations include banh canh cua, which is often a thick soup with lumps of crab, and banh canh cha ca, a thinner broth with fish cakes that’s popular in south central Vietnam.Christina Liao, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2024
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Steroid injections: Corticosteroid injections may help shrink inflamed lumps and provide quick relief from pain and swelling.Lindsay Curtis, Health, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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As Ray Winstone might say, what a prat.Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 29 Mar. 2022
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Through it all, however, the gal has retained a sort of grand hauteur, even while prat-falling into a bush.Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2022
Noun
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And when someone does cross the line, like the louts who doused cops in Harlem and Brownsville with water in 2019, most officers have shown remarkable restraint.Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2024
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That’s the memorable insult that James Kennedy (the DJ of the group) hurled at Tom Sandoval (the resident lout) last season after Sandoval — who had a girlfriend — became romantically involved with Kennedy’s ex-girlfriend.Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024
Noun
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Two lively mutts guard the noodle factory on the other side of the fence.Anne F. Thurston, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2016
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It’s been a long time coming for Managing Partner Kathleen Klinger and her cohorts in ownership, one that’s seen this 3,600-square-foot former warehouse repurposed into a mecca for mutts — and cyclists.Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Also tossed in are picturesque but gratuitous use of famous tourist landmarks as background, near-superheroic training montages, credible intimate character dynamics, a ruthless villain (Johan Heldenbergh as Vanaken) and action that in the home stretch goes absurdly over-the-top.Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
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And though Young and (especially) the perpetrators of the massacre are clearly the villains of the piece, their past history at least partly explains their choices.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Oaf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oaf. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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