clownish

adjective clown·ish \ ˈklau̇-nish \

|Updated on: 23 Jul 2018

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Examples: clownish in a Sentence

Definition of clownish

: resembling or befitting a clown (as in ignorance and lack of sophistication)

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clownishly

adverb

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clownishness

noun

See clownish defined for English-language learners

Examples of clownish in a Sentence

the clownish antics of some of the teenagers at the wedding reception

Recent Examples of clownish from the Web

This wasn’t the Djokovic who’d been such an joyous treat in his prime—a superstar capable of being chatty and funny and clownish, even on the court.

— jason gay, WSJ, "Novak’s Back—and Here Comes Tall John Isner," 12 July 2018
The Rays’ strategy wasn’t quite clownish or burlesque, and there might actually be something to it.

— emma baccellieri, SI.com, "The Rays and Marlins Played An Incredibly Strange Game on Tuesday Night," 4 July 2018
The Sox will show promise one day and look clownish the next.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "How much longer will the White Sox rebuild take?," 28 June 2018
Steve Feinberg Like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Feinberg took the Trump plunge during the campaign, when The Donald was still considered a clownish long shot.

— harry jaffe, Town & Country, "Who Are Donald Trump's Closest Friends?," 18 Apr. 2017
Annie’s death, her murder, has never been seriously investigated by the Baltimore Police Department — not in the initial homicide investigation, and not in the clownish cold-case investigation in 2013.

— tom jackman, Washington Post, "Parents of Annie McCann, found dead in Baltimore of ‘Bactine poisoning,’ press Gov. Hogan to intervene," 6 Mar. 2018
The regular Republican Party of tax cuts for the rich and deregulation of polluters and the financial industry once seemed to be set apart from its clownish demagogue presidential candidate.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "How the Trump Tax Cuts Solved the Democrats’ Campaign Problem," 20 Dec. 2017
And a case in point of his something-for-everyone talents is exemplified in patterned shirt that takes a design that could be clownish in less capable hands (in this case polka dots) and blows it out (and up).

— GQ, "18 Ways to Upgrade Your Closet Right Now," 26 Oct. 2017
So will Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ clownish father, who needs his Twitter account burned alive at the stake.

— michael arceneaux, The Root, "Habanero Hitler Confirms the Obvious: Hillary Clinton’s Name Will Never Completely Go Away, Even if You Want it To," 20 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clownish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of clownish

1563

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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clownish Synonyms

Synonyms

boorish, churlish, classless, cloddish, loutish, uncouth;

Near Antonyms

couth, cultivated, polished, refined, sophisticated, well-bred;

classy, courtly, genteel, gentlemanly, ladylike;

civil, courteous, polite;

tasteless, vulgar;

beastly, bestial;

doltish, oafish, stupid;

discourteous, impolite, mannerless, rude, uncivil, ungracious, unmannerly;

awkward, ungainly;

Synonym Discussion of clownish

boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish mean uncouth in manners or appearance. boorish implies rudeness of manner due to insensitiveness to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable.