zany
ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.
one who plays the clown or fool in order to amuse others.
a comically wild or eccentric person.
a secondary stock character in old comedies who mimicked his master.
a professional buffoon; clown.
a silly person; simpleton.
a slavish attendant or follower.
Origin of zany
1Other words for zany
Other words from zany
- za·ni·ly, adverb
- za·ni·ness, za·ny·ism, noun
- za·ny·ish, adjective
Words Nearby zany
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use zany in a sentence
After a zany sequence, when Trevon Diggs scored a touchdown off an interception and then Mac Jones tossed a 75-yard touchdown pass in response, the Cowboys drove into New England territory needing a field goal to force overtime.
What to know from NFL Week 6: Bill Belichick let Mike McCarthy off the hook | Adam Kilgore | October 18, 2021 | Washington PostStretch your legs at the Big Badlands Overlook and the Saddle Pass Trailhead before grabbing lunch at Wall Drug, a zany roadside attraction that’s been a piece of South Dakota history for 90 years.
In recent years, scientists studying the effect of light on brain function have confirmed some of Cook’s zanier intuitions.
In what may be its zaniest gambit yet, IKEA has launched an audiobook.
With US regulatory boards making it easier for new products to reach the market during the coronavirus emergency, a slew of solutions—from zany to ingenious—have become available.
How to design an office that employees will want to return to | Anne Quito | August 9, 2020 | Quartz
A remembrance of the zany, ad-libbing actor who made us laugh and cry.
Robin Williams, Hollywood’s Grand Jester, Is Dead at 63 | Marlow Stern | August 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe proliferation of zany burger toppings came next as an inevitable by-product of the high-end burger fad.
Have We Reached ‘Peak Burger’? The Crazy Fetishization of Our Most Basic Comfort Food | Brandon Presser | July 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was the zany TV interview he conducted with Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS-TV that made him an instant viral celebrity.
Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker, Viral Star, Now an Alleged Killer | Marlow Stern | May 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTLook at her zany appearance with Dave Letterman about tweeting on Ambien for proof of that.
Kristin Chenoweth on Her Darker Role in ‘Family Weekend’ | Kevin Fallon | March 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAside from the zany plot, the film stretches the bounds of realism thanks to its bloody zombie kills.
The Anti-‘Zero Dark Thirty:’ The Osama bin Laden-Meets-Zombies Movie | Marlow Stern | December 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTY was a Youth, that did not love school; Z was a zany, a poor harmless fool.
He knew that so long as he obeyed orders he would be unharmed, and he would have been a zany had he hesitated to do so.
Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. EllisThe youth never doubted that he would carry out this threat, and he would have been a zany to draw the explosion of wrath.
Two Boys in Wyoming | Edward S. EllisOh, you selfish young zany of a man, after all you have said to her, won't you make it up and let me return to my coffee?
The Little White Bird | J. M. BarrieThe alabaster image of the Blessed Virgin kept turning to a paper thing, kept nodding at him like a zany.
Sinister Street, vol. 2 | Compton Mackenzie
British Dictionary definitions for zany
/ (ˈzeɪnɪ) /
comical in an endearing way; imaginatively funny or comical, esp in behaviour
a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect
a ludicrous or foolish person
Origin of zany
1Derived forms of zany
- zanily, adverb
- zaniness, noun
- zanyism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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