Lloyd Rose
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When Renaissance Italians began exploring the ancient Roman ruins around them, they discovered fantastic mural paintings that they called grottesca (which means "grotesques," a name given to the paintings because they were found in caves, or grotte). Because they were so old, the murals were also called antichi, or "ancient things." English speakers adopted antichi, modifying it to antike or anticke, and eventually any behavior or dress reminiscent of the kind depicted in the Roman murals became known as an antic. Within 20 years of its earliest recorded uses as a noun, antic began appearing as an English adjective. Originally, it meant "grotesque" or "bizarre" (a sense now considered archaic), but today it means "playful, funny, or absurd" and the noun means "an often wildly playful or funny act."
Examples of antic in a Sentence
Denise Petski, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2025
Musk's politics and antics have elicited a massive backlash in Europe and parts of the U.S.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2025
Alexandra Tanner, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025
The son is his father’s fiendish double, an antic, self-loathing imp who, loudly proclaiming his adoration of Eli-Leizer, makes a mockery of him.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for antic
Cite this Entry
“Antic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antic. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
antic
1 of 2 noun
antic
2 of 2 adjective
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