1
as in harlequins
a comically dressed performer (as at a circus) who entertains with playful tricks and ridiculous behavior
a clown wearing big floppy shoes and a red wig
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in bastards
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
you should stay away from that clown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of clowns
Jana Pollack, Parents, 31 Jan. 2026
What awaits you is an emotional journey through family, death, grief, memory, hope, and tears that also features clowns – yes, clowns!
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Wild and kitschy shows followed with opening fetes dedicated to colorful subjects including Andy Warhol, circus clowns, and Canadian television creators and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Performers, clowns and managers talk about the risks, egos and family atmosphere at Cirque, as shots of death-defying stunts play.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
There are other quirky attractions here, too, like the Clown Motel, where horror enthusiasts can sleep among a collection of more than 6,500 clowns.
—Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 21 Jan. 2026
After his parents divorced, his mother took 5-year-old Salazar with her, moving from place to place around South America, and performing as clowns to make money.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2026
These mercenary-force ICE clowns are traitors to the country and the Constitution.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
Brewer depicts the world of music impersonators with a fair amount of affection, like the rodeo clowns of late 20th-century America.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
The results will show young women who look an awful lot like circus clowns, with faces hidden under layers of masks, gels, serums, and even face tape.
—Jana Pollack, Parents, 31 Jan. 2026
What awaits you is an emotional journey through family, death, grief, memory, hope, and tears that also features clowns – yes, clowns!
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Wild and kitschy shows followed with opening fetes dedicated to colorful subjects including Andy Warhol, circus clowns, and Canadian television creators and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft.
—Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Performers, clowns and managers talk about the risks, egos and family atmosphere at Cirque, as shots of death-defying stunts play.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
There are other quirky attractions here, too, like the Clown Motel, where horror enthusiasts can sleep among a collection of more than 6,500 clowns.
—Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 21 Jan. 2026
After his parents divorced, his mother took 5-year-old Salazar with her, moving from place to place around South America, and performing as clowns to make money.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2026
These mercenary-force ICE clowns are traitors to the country and the Constitution.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
Brewer depicts the world of music impersonators with a fair amount of affection, like the rodeo clowns of late 20th-century America.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowns
Noun
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The two buffoons shave her head, chain her in the basement of a messy remote home and then accuse her of being an alien.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
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But times have changed, and this team of buffoons is forced to grapple with changing industry ethics and sensationalist journalism in its transition, all while Ron faces an identity crisis that challenges his bravado, his massive ego.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In 2022, Japanese researchers found that dogs produced tears when reuniting with their humans.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Ending the retail sales of dogs is a crucial way to reduce demand from puppy mills.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But those three comedians sound practically like Rakim or Eminem next to the vast majority of 1980s Chicago Bears players, who were also forced to do a line dance.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
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The no-frills series put singers, comedians, dancers and other performers head-to-head and helped launch future stars like Britney Spears long before viral auditions and fan voting.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Moreover, where most clients are great, some are jerks.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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The herks and jerks, the highs and lows, the lack of consistency that has summed up so much of McCarthy’s season reared their oft-ugly heads.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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More importantly, this origin story of a movie and a movement apes the joie de moviemaking and the jazzy looseness of the original to an absolutely amazing degree, replicating an off-the-cuff feeling that’s more than a second-hand buzz.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
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There are high columns crawling with ivy, nearly 12 acres of rolling lawns, teensy windows with teensy shutters, and a diminutive pool house that apes a fairy-tale cottage.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Students are required to bring two full decks of cards including the jokers.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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The 166-piece set includes 36 dot, bam, and crack tiles, 12 dragons, 16 winds, 16 flowers, 10 jokers, and four blank spare tiles made from melamine.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The critters who drop in or call the space home range from monarch butterflies, ladybugs and lizards to hummingbirds and bushtits, skunks, opossums and even the occasional mountain lion.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Jan. 2026
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Thiols are responsible for the distinctive aromas of skunk spray and ripe durian; they’re also added to natural gas to provide a detectable rotten-egg smell at even trace levels.—
Nicola Twilley,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This happens often enough when one administration succeeds another, to be sure, with the new team insisting that its predecessors were idiots, but the Hegseth Pentagon carries such insults to a new level.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
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As Venus points out in his confessional, the problem here is Marcus, who keeps making both of them look like idiots.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clowns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowns. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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