as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
The neighbors dismissed her as a loony when she painted sheep on her house.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also looney
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
that's got to be the looniest idea I've ever heard
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 loony
Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The Army secretary, acting on the guidance of a loony Trump acolyte, revoked the teaching appointment of — anyone will tell you — one of America’s most skilled nonpartisan cyberwarriors, herself a graduate of West Point.
—Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
None of them care what their grandiose and loony ideas cost ordinary people.
—Susan Shelley, Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
Love Songs holds the hallmarks of an era of heterodox rap-hook writers, deep YouTube exploration, and DIY mash-ups and blends, but the loonier flips restore the ’89 feeling of wondering whether an exciting piece of collagework will one day be sued out of existence.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for loony
Adjective
Dark loony New York comedy, but still.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The Army secretary, acting on the guidance of a loony Trump acolyte, revoked the teaching appointment of — anyone will tell you — one of America’s most skilled nonpartisan cyberwarriors, herself a graduate of West Point.
—Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
None of them care what their grandiose and loony ideas cost ordinary people.
—Susan Shelley, Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
Love Songs holds the hallmarks of an era of heterodox rap-hook writers, deep YouTube exploration, and DIY mash-ups and blends, but the loonier flips restore the ’89 feeling of wondering whether an exciting piece of collagework will one day be sued out of existence.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for loony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loony
Noun
-
But what the New Yorker writer left behind is some of the finest prose of the 20th century, focusing primarily on the eccentrics, scalawags, seamen, and other denizens of New York’s dank corners.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
2 May 2026
-
The town’s overflowing with charming Midwest eccentrics, including a cocky mayor (Henry Winkler) and a welcoming barkeep (Lena Headey).—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And that was so arrogant and stupid on my part.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
At some point, Brandon Aiyuk has to learn that stupid decisions come with consequences.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
-
Each of their characters has their foibles but neither ever leans unlikable.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
People who see ghosts tend to see the same ghost wafting down the same staircase, but none of the characters populating Leo’s wacko hallucinations have returned for a repeat perfor-mance.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
-
This wacko crew was one of the greatest things in the history of television.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
After eighteen months of crisis that saw historic urban fires, harassment by federal immigration authorities, and the generalized anxiety that attends a place where rents are high and services low, public transit inadequate and gas prices insane, the city’s vitality is flagging.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Lots of wires, lots of insane stunts.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Artists have always used music to question authority and expose the cracks (and the crackpots) in the American story.—
Time,
Time,
6 May 2026
-
In one corner, the heartless girlboss; in the other, the crackpot conspiracy theorist (who just happens to be more sympathetic and charismatic than such types usually are).—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
-
Backing the Cubs right now seems foolish.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loony. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
