Synonyms of cuckoo

cuckoo 1 of 2

adjective

as in mad

showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment

offered a completely cuckoo suggestion for using the defunct strip mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mad
• foolish
• stupid
• silly
• insane
• crazy
• absurd
• lunatic
• idiotic
• fool
• loony
• irrational
• wacko
• nutty
• dumb
• daffy
• dippy
• batty
• zany
• gaga
• kooky
• wacky
• crackpot
• screwball
• ridiculous
• daft
• dotty
• simple
• nonsensical
• witless
• barmy
• fatuous
• weak
• harebrained
• unreasonable
• out to lunch
• unreasoning
• loony tunes
• simpleminded
• brainless
• sappy
• preposterous
• unwise
• crackbrained
• jerky
• senseless
• balmy
• weak-minded
• slow
• meshuga
• inept
• cockeyed
• asinine
• tomfool
• bubbleheaded
• half-baked
• fruity
• half-witted
• imbecile
• moronic
• unreasoned
• lunkheaded
• featherheaded
• thoughtless
• dull
• dense
• dopey
• doltish
• unintelligent
• vacuous
• pinheaded
• clueless
• empty-headed
• opaque
• feebleminded
• brain-dead
• mindless
• oafish
• obtuse
• dim
• thickheaded
• softheaded
• illogical
• lamebrain
• thick
• dunderheaded
• soft
• invalid
• nonrational
• ludicrous
• gormless
• fallacious
• farcical
• dorky
• unsound
• birdbrained
• surd
• dim-witted
• airheaded
• clownish
• chuckleheaded
• knuckleheaded
• laughable
• notional
• buffoonish
• boobish
• slow-witted
• chowderheaded
• unconsidered
• ill-advised

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sound
• wise
• sane
• sensible
• prudent
• intelligent
• judicious
• clever
• smart
• bright
• sage
• reasonable
• sapient
• valid
• sagacious
• rational
• logical
• brainy
• well-advised

cuckoo

2 of 2

noun

ˈkü-(ˌ)kü 

1

as in lunatic

a person who lacks good sense or judgment

one cuckoo at the campground tried to boil soup in a plastic cup

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lunatic
• fool
• goose
• maniac
• nut
• idiot
• moron
• booby
• monkey
• turkey
• nutcase
• ding-dong
• simpleton
• ninny
• loser
• dingbat
• jackass
• ninnyhammer
• git
• mooncalf
• featherhead
• berk
• dipstick
• nitwit
• doofus
• simp
• nincompoop
• charlie
• half-wit
• ding-a-ling
• nit
• donkey
• dummy
• madman
• daredevil
• yo-yo
• imbecile
• know-nothing
• blockhead
• dolt
• dodo
• pinhead
• ignoramus
• dunce
• birdbrain
• knucklehead
• gander
• airhead
• goon
• dope
• numskull
• scatterbrain
• crackpot
• weirdo
• schnook
• screwball
• dork
• dupe
• chump
• butt
• character
• crank
• kook
• fathead
• schlemiel
• dumbbell
• stock
• oddball
• codger
• schlump
• featherbrain
• mockery
• laughingstock
• schlub
• crackbrain

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• brain
• sage
• genius
• thinker

2

as in goose

a silly flighty person

didn't want to be among those cuckoos who race around the mall the day before Christmas

Synonyms & Similar Words

• goose
• fool
• silly
• ditz
• scatterbrain
• flibbertigibbet
• birdbrain
• nitwit
• featherbrain
• rattlebrain
• featherhead
• softhead
• simpleton

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cuckoo

Adjective

In the Disney film, Geppetto is a maker of toys and cuckoo clocks living in a vaguely European half-timber house. — Perri Klass, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2022

In the midst of such cuckoo-ness, my son, Isaac, and daughter-in-law, Lennon, had the courage to bring a child into this world. — New York Times, 15 Mar. 2022

Noun

There in Bauhus’s office, a cuckoo springs out of the little house on the wall—that sleek, modern clock, missing the detail of tradition but still gesturing at something. — Kendra Atleework, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2026

Under the current Gateway plan, those repairs don’t happen until 2040, which is cuckoo, especially if imminent failure is feared. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2026

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!