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Webster's New World College Dictionary » clownery
clownery
Variant of clown
clown
definition
clown (klo̵un)
noun
- Obsolete a peasant or farmer; rustic
- a clumsy, boorish, or incompetent person
- a performer who entertains, as in a circus, by antics, jokes, tricks, etc.; jester
- a person who constantly plays the fool, makes jokes, etc.; buffoon
Etymology: < ? Scand, as in Ice klunni, clumsy person
intransitive verb
- to perform as a clown
- to play practical jokes, act silly, etc.
Related Forms:
- clownery clown′·ery noun
- clownish clown′·ish adjective
- clownishly clown′·ishly adverb
- clownishness clown′·ish·ness noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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