zany

American  

[zey-nee] / ˈzeɪ ni /

adjective

zanier, zaniest

1. ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.

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noun

plural

zanies

1. one who plays the clown or fool in order to amuse others.

2. a comically wild or eccentric person.

   Synonyms:

   lunatic, crazy, kook

3. a secondary stock character in old comedies who mimicked his master.

4. a professional buffoon; clown.

5. a silly person; simpleton.

6. a slavish attendant or follower.

zany British  

/ ˈzeɪnɪ /

adjective

1. comical in an endearing way; imaginatively funny or comical, esp in behaviour

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noun

1. a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect

2. a ludicrous or foolish person

Other Word Forms

• zanily adverb
• zaniness noun
• zanyish adjective
• zanyism noun

Etymology

Origin of zany

1560–70; (< Middle French ) < Italian zan ( n ) i (later zanno ) a servant character in the commedia dell’arte, perhaps originally the character's name, the Upper Italian form of Tuscan Gianni, for Giovanni John

Explanation

If you've been called zany, you are goofy, wacky, and clownish. Zany describes very silly people and behaviors. If you break into a bad, old-guy imitation of hip-hop, you might be trying too hard to be zany. There's an old character in comedies from the 15th through the 19th centuries who always had the Italian name Gianni, or Giovanni, another form of which was "Zanni" — from which we get the adjective zany. Just as there are good clowns and kind of scary, weird clowns, zany describes both truly funny and laughable people and things, as well as foolish, or ludicrous, attempts at being funny. Something zany makes people laugh, unless it's weird zany and just makes them cringe.

Example Sentences

But the frontrunner of this awards season has long been "One Battle," a zany thriller about a retired revolutionary looking for his teen daughter.

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

The zany movie features a young environmental advocate who “hops” her consciousness into a robotic beaver and bands together with other woodland creatures to stop a planned freeway expansion through a glade.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

O’Hara earned an Emmy and a Golden Globe win for her portrayal of an out-of-touch, overly dramatic former soap opera star known for wearing zany wigs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

The book is potent, pungent and powerful on every page, full of excitement and zany counterculture cool and spiced with Mr. Freston’s razor-sharp observations and quick wit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

Plus, Charles’s mother did not particularly care for what Mr. Lemoncello was doing inside his zany library.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• campy
• comical
• eccentric
• goofy
• kooky
• loony
• madcap
• wacky