as in clown
a comically dressed performer (as at a circus) who entertains with playful tricks and ridiculous behavior
the children at the birthday party giggled at the buffoon's silly tricks
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Recent Examples of buffoon
Finally there’s Arthur, an upwards-failing buffoon caught—like so many of his countrymen, then and now—between Conkling’s spoils system and Garfield’s idealism.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 28 Nov. 2025
The two buffoons shave her head, chain her in the basement of a messy remote home and then accuse her of being an alien.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
But times have changed, and this team of buffoons is forced to grapple with changing industry ethics and sensationalist journalism in its transition, all while Ron faces an identity crisis that challenges his bravado, his massive ego.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Perhaps the system isn’t really corrupt, it’s just run by buffoons.
—G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffoon
Judy Berman, Time, 28 Nov. 2025
The two buffoons shave her head, chain her in the basement of a messy remote home and then accuse her of being an alien.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
But times have changed, and this team of buffoons is forced to grapple with changing industry ethics and sensationalist journalism in its transition, all while Ron faces an identity crisis that challenges his bravado, his massive ego.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Perhaps the system isn’t really corrupt, it’s just run by buffoons.
—G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffoon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buffoon
clown
Noun
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When Feld Entertainment unveiled a new edition of the circus with much fanfare in 2023, the only animal in it was a mechanical robot dog and while there was some comedy, traditional circus clowns were not a part of it.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2026
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In Nuremberg,Göring is closer to a sad clown than to a monster.—
Alice Kaplan,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buffoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buffoon. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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