as in boorish
having or showing crudely insensitive or impolite manners
the clownish antics of some of the teenagers at the wedding reception
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
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
-
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
-
And that’s a stupid, dumb, mindless question.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Dessert Week is the stupidest week, at least conceptually.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Every unflattering photo and uncouth inside joke will come to light.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
But a significant number of comments had very little to do with the content itself; instead, viewers made uncouth remarks about the teenager's appearance.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This was like loutish English tourists turning up unannounced and urinating in the holy water.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
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
-
Matty isn’t quite so classless this week.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
-
This type of behavior by Mayor Hammoud was uncalled for, classless, unprofessional and just plain wrong.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Who decides what’s decorous and what’s vulgar?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clownish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clownish. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share