1
as in lunatics
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
one cuckoo at the campground tried to boil soup in a plastic cup
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in geese
a silly flighty person
didn't want to be among those cuckoos who race around the mall the day before Christmas
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cuckoos
Canada geese are protected, as well as most other geese, swans, ducks, cranes, cuckoos, hummingbirds, doves and flamingos.
—
Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 27 Jan. 2026
Brood parasites such as cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, tricking the hosts into caring for their offspring at the expense of their own.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 27 Jan. 2026
Brood parasites such as cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, tricking the hosts into caring for their offspring at the expense of their own.
—Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cuckoos
Noun
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Even then, though, the popular take — the story of the lunatics taking over asylum — didn’t sit right with me.—
Paul Fischer,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Beating these lunatics was incredible, right?—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The most significant wild bird flu response happened this winter, back in December and January, when about 2,000 birds — most of which were snow geese — were found dead in a Northampton County quarry.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Hundreds of geese have reportedly died in New Jersey, and bird flu is suspected to be the culprit.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
April 1, because this cast is full of fools.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Sadly, OpenAI plays us for fools.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The spline structure inside the nuts, the non-fixed gripping posture, and interference from magnetic forces significantly increased assembly complexity.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Mar. 2026
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Pillowy layers of white cake make this one a classic, but an assortment of fruits and nuts like cherries and pecans set it apart.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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His strict and meticulous methodologies taught some of the smartest people on the planet how to behave like complete idiots, paving the way for a new generation of red-nosed fools to pratfall onto the stage.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
10 Feb. 2026
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Franchises are lost because of proud idiots.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cuckoos.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cuckoos. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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