as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a zany plan to drive cross-country on a motorized scooter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in clown
a comically dressed performer (as at a circus) who entertains with playful tricks and ridiculous behavior
hired a zany to entertain the children at the birthday party
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
one of the challenges of hosting a radio call-in program is preventing the zanies from completely taking over the discussion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of zany
Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Watch: Our guide to the best sci-fi movies to stream includes a zany comedy from New Zealand.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2025
Some of us, maybe like Bill Clinton, might wonder what zany anecdote Johnny Miller might have to say about Bill and Hillary during the Little Rock years.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2025
Doke plays Eyeball, a mischievous, zany artist who sees the world in her own idiosyncratic way and often lightens a heavy mood with a joke.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zany
Adjective
All of them are more than game to poke fun at themselves and their images — Zoë Kravitz is, in fact, wonderfully zany — but what else would anyone expect?
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Watch: Our guide to the best sci-fi movies to stream includes a zany comedy from New Zealand.
—Natasha Frost, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2025
Some of us, maybe like Bill Clinton, might wonder what zany anecdote Johnny Miller might have to say about Bill and Hillary during the Little Rock years.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2025
Doke plays Eyeball, a mischievous, zany artist who sees the world in her own idiosyncratic way and often lightens a heavy mood with a joke.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zany
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zany
Adjective
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But many will, in situations where they’re allowed to stretch out, go deep, get silly, or eat hot wings while trying to answer questions.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2025
-
Have a Dance Party Clear the furniture, cue up a playlist with all of Mom's favorite hits (and a few silly, kid-friendly jams), and let loose.—
Laura Broadwell,
Parents,
1 May 2025
Noun
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Matthew Davies, 41, was taken into custody on suspicion of assaulting a man with a glass bottle while dressed up as a clown on Oct. 31, 2018, according to a news release issued by the department.—
Vincent Moleski,
Sacbee.com,
8 May 2025
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In the ‘30s and ‘40s, there were all these clowns trying to sell things, and then there was Krinkles the Clown trying to sell cereal [in the ‘50s].—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Robert Redford delivers folksy wisdom as a local eccentric who once had his own dragon encounter, and even Karl Urban’s greedy logger is more of a nuisance than an outright villain.—
Josh Bell,
Vulture,
21 Mar. 2025
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Attracting talent for greater innovation hazards acquiring a few eccentrics whose gifts come wrapped in controversial packaging.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But Stewart lived at the top of their board when on the clock at No. 17 — not just because of his 10.0 Relative Athletic Score or absurd combine workout.—
Paul Dehner Jr.,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
-
This week’s episode tackles the minefield of casting, as execs melt down over the racial politics of casting their absurd Kool-Aid tentpole.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Learn more about management options and which food plants are most susceptible to this insect in our harlequin bug on vegetables web page.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Apr. 2025
-
Once infused with the diabolical spirit, the guide is transformed into a buffoon, complete with a harlequin outfit—a mad joker and a dancing fool who does a little jig to the sound of a jazz trio.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Mason’s character Stella soothes one of the horses on the farm with a sort of lullaby, that is actually an original song written just for the film by a friend of Mason’s, Donna Stuart.—
Rebecca Angel Baer,
Southern Living,
3 May 2025
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The show, replete with flower-power aesthetics and a raunchy sensibility, showed off Buzzi's knack for physical comedy above the neck, her characters often contorting their faces for the sake of caricature.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
Adjective
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In one sense, this isn’t an entirely stupid proposition.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
3 May 2025
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Vel rails against the offender, saying her lover was the kind of warrior the Ghor rebels are trying to be and that her loss is both incalculable and stupid.—
Noel Murray,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But the Liberals are an electoral machine—something of a rarity on the center-left—that would be foolish to bet against.—
Daniel Block,
The Atlantic,
29 Apr. 2025
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His cigars weren’t as nasty as his habit of chasing bad money with worse—high living and foolish investments, with second-rate writing meant to plug the gap.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Zany.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zany. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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