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
Orange cats, particularly tabbies like Butter, are known for their quirky and often clownish personalities.
—
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
Each shoe lifts you a full 1.5 inches off the ground, but the upper offers a low profile that keeps them from looking, well, clownish.
—Gabrielle Kassel, Glamour, 11 Apr. 2025
In the mountains of Papua New Guinea, researchers encountered a clownish creature perched on a log in a fern meadow, basking in the sun.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2025
The suit also paints a clownish portrait of the entrepreneur, portraying him as pompous, shameless, and untrustworthy.
—Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clownish
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
Each shoe lifts you a full 1.5 inches off the ground, but the upper offers a low profile that keeps them from looking, well, clownish.
—Gabrielle Kassel, Glamour, 11 Apr. 2025
In the mountains of Papua New Guinea, researchers encountered a clownish creature perched on a log in a fern meadow, basking in the sun.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2025
The suit also paints a clownish portrait of the entrepreneur, portraying him as pompous, shameless, and untrustworthy.
—Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clownish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clownish
Adjective
-
Avoid boorish behavior People from many different cultures don’t seem to know how to travel, but Americans in particular have a reputation across the globe for being pushy and loud people.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
-
His boorish behavior was condemned by others silently and did not affect the solemnity of the ceremony.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
10 June 2025
Adjective
-
Jess: The curds themselves are crispy, but the toast is stupid.—
Jess Fleming,
Twin Cities,
22 Aug. 2025
-
The dialogue wasn’t dumbed down and stupid comic book stuff.—
William Earl,
Variety,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
If Netanyahu loses the next elections, his downfall would bring a wave of relief among many Israelis at home and abroad for removing the uncouth populists and religious fundamentalists who openly broadcast their intentions to destroy and starve the population of Gaza and annex the territory.—
DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN,
Foreign Affairs,
13 Aug. 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
-
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
-
For example, in Stalin’s communism, monism took the form of believing that the key is to establish a classless society — even if millions of people had to be killed to achieve that vision.—
Sigal Samuel,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Adjective
-
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
-
Chinese anger was displayed again in the churlish treatment of visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in July when, apart from other indignities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry publicly released its list of demands to Washington while her meeting was still underway.—
Danny Russel,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Nov. 2021
Adjective
-
Her choice to respond by telling me to 'shut the f*** up' and to 'calm my p*****' was vulgar, dismissive and escalated the issue entirely.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
-
As deadly wildfires raged across Southern California in January, a Los Angeles city official lamented to the city council and others how they were forced to listen to hateful, vulgar language from some members of the public.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clownish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clownish. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share