as in boorish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners
the clownish antics of some of the teenagers at the wedding reception
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Recent Examples of clownish
Joining Proctor in court was Meatball Morrissey’s clownish prosecutor, Adam Lally.
—
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
And best of all is the entrance of Gladys (Amy Madigan), the almost clownish-looking eccentric, red-wigged aunt of Alex who comes to visit.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Inspired by the artifice of playthings, Jacobs turned to 1960s paper dolls last February, and this season opened the door to the dollhouse once again with clownish, clomping platform heels that forced his models to walk with a Barbie-like gait.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 3 July 2025
Orange cats, particularly tabbies like Butter, are known for their quirky and often clownish personalities.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clownish
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
And best of all is the entrance of Gladys (Amy Madigan), the almost clownish-looking eccentric, red-wigged aunt of Alex who comes to visit.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Inspired by the artifice of playthings, Jacobs turned to 1960s paper dolls last February, and this season opened the door to the dollhouse once again with clownish, clomping platform heels that forced his models to walk with a Barbie-like gait.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 3 July 2025
Orange cats, particularly tabbies like Butter, are known for their quirky and often clownish personalities.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for clownish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clownish
Adjective
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Kimmel, like Stephen Colbert, went from acting as boorish right-wing caricatures to playing themselves — that is, liberals who dislike Trump and support vaccines.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Depicting Americans as arrogant, loud, boorish and demeaning of other cultures, the term has stuck and is still mentioned 60-plus years later.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
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America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham, whose season was also cut short due to injury, was more uncouth during her exit interview Thursday.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
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Societal neglect will inevitably breed a coarseness in manner and language, exhibited by the uncouth nature of the Chiefs’ players as well as the public watching them.—
Vikram Murthi,
IndieWire,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This was like loutish English tourists turning up unannounced and urinating in the holy water.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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And Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in 2013 at age 51, was the show’s tempestuous soul, playing a loutish killer with a quick temper and sad eyes.—
Chris Vognar,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This type of behavior by Mayor Hammoud was uncalled for, classless, unprofessional and just plain wrong.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
20 Sep. 2025
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Private ownership is eliminated with the goal of all goods being equally shared in a classless society.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Read more: How the Low-Stakes Murder Mystery Took Over Pop Culture Advertisement Still, The Thursday Murder Club is so good-natured, and so gorgeous to look at, that to carp about it just seems churlish.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
22 Aug. 2025
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The pure of heart among you may recoil at the notion that anyone would sow brutish chaos, hurt vulnerable people and throw any semblance of democracy under the bus for a churlish, vicious distraction.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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A day before a shooter killed four people and set fire to a church in Michigan, students at a football game in Colorado chanted vulgar anti-Mormon slurs against the same religious organization.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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Colorado has condemned a vulgar chant its fans directed at BYU during its football team’s 24-21 loss Saturday at Folsom Field.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clownish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clownish. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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