foolproof [fool-proof] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for foolproof on Thesaurus.com adjective
- involving no risk or harm, even when tampered with.
- never-failing: a foolproof method.
Origin of foolproof An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; fool1 + -proof Related Words for foolproof flawless, reliable, sure-fire, unassailable, perfect, tested, tried, guaranteed, certain, dependable, fail-safe, faultless, safe, sure, unerring, unfailing, idiot-proof Examples from the Web for foolproof Contemporary Examples of foolproof
A “foolproof” way to make the diagnosis would be news indeed!
How to Tell When a Scientific Study Is Total B.S.
Russell Saunders
August 22, 2014
Cry No More Every parent tires of hearing their child cry, but not everyone finds such a foolproof way to make it stop.
North West Debuts, Rob Ford Arm-Wrestles Hulk Hogan & More Viral Videos
The Daily Beast Video
August 24, 2013
Of all the potential holiday gifts, few are as foolproof as cash or gift cards.
What to Do With Unwanted Gift Cards
Nina Strochlic
December 26, 2012
Dan Gross on why the episode is a reminder that the vaunted cloud is much like the Web in the 1990s—young and far from foolproof.
Blame It on the Cloud: Amazon Outage Shows Peril of Outsourcing Data
Daniel Gross
October 25, 2012
The only foolproof way to avoid pregnancy is, of course, not to have sex.
Gail Collins on Texas’s Abstinence Sex Education Problems
Gail Collins
June 4, 2012
Historical Examples of foolproof
All of us—all the Academy top brass—develop a foolproof test for cadet maneuvers.
Carey Rockwell
He had to establish some sort of foolproof disguise, and he had to make contact with Earth’s underground.
Robert Sheckley
There are a few sequences of words that really are foolproof, carrying their own atmosphere and dignity with them.
Lee Wilson Dodd
He had smashed the radio, a marvelously compact and foolproof outfit, arbitrarily tuned to a fixed short wave-length.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
Various
This time he wasn’t afraid of meeting a Bandersnatch or anything else, for he had a method of escape that was foolproof.
Jesse Franklin Bone
British Dictionary definitions for foolproof foolproof adjective
- proof against failure; infalliblea foolproof idea
- (esp of machines) proof against human misuse, error, etc
Word Origin and History for foolproof adj.
also fool-proof, 1902, American English, “safe against the incompetence of a fool,” from fool (n.) + proof.