Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

buffoon

/bəˈfuːn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.80 in modern English

Syllables: buf-foon
IPA: /bəˈfuːn/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.

noun

An unintentionally ridiculous person.

Derogatory

verb

To behave like a buffoon

Example Sentences

"To divert the audience with buffoon postures and antic dances."
"His mimicry of gay speech and facial expressions is analogous to an Amos 'n' Andy routine, in which white men buffooned their way through incredibly demeaning impersonations of black men."

Etymology

From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: bouffon, buffone

Usage

Derogatory

Inflected Forms

buffoons (plural) buffoons (present, singular) buffooning (participle, present) buffooned (participle, past) buffooned (past)

Derived Forms

buffonize buffoonery buffoonesque buffoonic buffoonish buffoonism buffoonlike buffoonly buffoonry

Synonyms

clown goof goofball merry andrew

Rhymes With

soon june afternoon moon tune immune noon cartoon balloon spoon typhoon platoon

Questions

How do you pronounce buffoon?: The recorded pronunciation is /bəˈfuːn/.
What does buffoon mean?: One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
Where does buffoon come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce buffoon

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “buffoon”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bəˈfuːn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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