zany Hear it!

zany Definition

zany ()

noun pl. zanies -·nies

  1. a clown or buffoon; specif., a former stock character in comedies who clownishly aped the principal actors
  2. a silly or foolish person; simpleton

Etymology: Fr zani < It dial. (Venetian) zani, zanni, a zany, clown, orig. a familiar abbrev. pronun. of Giovanni, John

adjective zanier -·nier, zaniest -·ni·est

of or characteristic of a zany; specif.,
  1. comical in an extravagantly ludicrous or slapstick manner
  2. foolish or crazy

Related Forms:

zany Synonyms

zany

modif.

zany Synonyms

zany

n.

zany Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • little: Wednesday 28th December 2005 Inspired by others, you might like to try being a little zany yourself today.

Modifies a noun

  • antic: It must be the inner glow they get from knowing their zany antics are helping a very serious campaign against cancer.
  • humor: All this is laced with wonderful, zany humor.
  • comedy: You know, zany comedy, dark drama, adverts etc?
  • character: Stunts or an unusual location, strange costumes or zany characters can grab the attention of media people.
  • fun: Zany fun & lots of joining in for 4yrs upwards.

Modifying Another Word

  • wonderfully: Heather Coleman in Exeter has a wonderfully zany site but ( but beware the brain behind the fluff ).
  • slightly: Sue has a slightly zany, self-effacing, bubbly personality, which opposes her meticulous, time-consuming love for something bright and beautiful.
  • quite: Even more, if it brings you business, you'd be quite zany to forget to buy the upgraded version next year!
  • rather: Far from being a father figure, they looked on him as an endearing and rather zany elder brother.
  • particularly: What, for example, is particularly zany, offbeat or fanciful about 5.30?
  • suitably: A television team was also in attendance, seeking out suitably zany people with which to film interviews.

Noun used with modifier

  • bit: Seeing a group of hamsters dressed up as zebras, frogs and lions is quite amusing and a bit zany.

Browse dictionary entries near zany

  1. Zante
  2. zaniness
  3. zanily
  4. zaniest
  5. zanies
  6. zanier
  7. Zangwill
  8. Zangbo
  9. zanders
  10. zander
  1. Zanzibar
  2. Zanzibari
  3. zap
  4. Zapata
  5. Zaporozhye
  6. Zapotec
  7. Zapotecan
  8. Zapotecs
  9. zapped
  10. zapper