oaf

/əʊf/ (bre, ipa) · /əʊf/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈōf/ (ame, mw)

oaf — noun

  • oafsingular
  • oafsplural

1. an insulting word for someone, usually a man, who behaves in a slow, clumsy, or

1.名詞C1
釋義

an insulting word for someone, usually a man, who behaves in a slow, clumsy, or unkind way and is not seen as bright or polite

例句

Mateo apologised after stepping on his date's foot and called himself a clumsy oaf.

self-insult: call oneself an/a clumsy oaf

Get out of my way, you great oaf, before you knock the cake over!

vocative insult: you + (great) + oaf

同義詞
  • lout

    stronger; emphasises rudeness and rough manners more than clumsiness

  • klutz

    informal American; focuses on physical clumsiness, no insult to intelligence

  • buffoon

    stresses ridiculous behaviour; can be self-aware or theatrical

  • boor

    literary; emphasises rude, ill-mannered behaviour rather than slowness

反義詞

文法句型

a/an + oaf

you + oaf (insult)

用法筆記

Almost always applied to men or boys; rarely used of women. Often paired with intensifiers (great, big, clumsy, drunken) and used either as direct insult or as a softer self-deprecating label.

常見錯誤

❌She is such an oaf.
✅He is such an oaf.
💡oaf is overwhelmingly used of males; a female equivalent would normally use a different word (e.g. 'klutz').
❌I felt oaf when I dropped the tray.
✅I felt like an oaf when I dropped the tray.
💡oaf is a countable noun and needs an article or determiner.