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
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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
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Recent Examples of loony
Susan Shelley, Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
As an impressionist, Carvey's style was more, well, impressionist — his gabbling, discursive George H.W. Bush spinning out further and further while remaining resolutely tethered to some measure of loony reality (taking a similar approach for his recent recurring stint as President Joe Biden).
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 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
One of our region's most famous comics, Michael Hawthorne, built a career from illustrating the loony loudmouth.
—Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for loony
Adjective
None of them care what their grandiose and loony ideas cost ordinary people.
—Susan Shelley, Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
As an impressionist, Carvey's style was more, well, impressionist — his gabbling, discursive George H.W. Bush spinning out further and further while remaining resolutely tethered to some measure of loony reality (taking a similar approach for his recent recurring stint as President Joe Biden).
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 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
One of our region's most famous comics, Michael Hawthorne, built a career from illustrating the loony loudmouth.
—Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 18 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for loony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loony
Noun
-
On her trail are a Báthory relative who is vegetarian (Thomas Schubert), his psychotherapist (Lars Eidinger), two vampirologists, a police inspector and a gallery of eccentrics.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
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Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But maybe Johnson isn’t stupid.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Even in contemporary political and intellectual discourse, there remains an attachment to a particular stupid southern conservatism, the ideocratic confederacy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Over the past week, a slew of cinematic videos of celebrities and characters in absurd situations have gone viral online, with one commonality –– they were created using a new artificial intelligence tool from Chinese developer ByteDance, sparking anxiety over the fast-evolving capabilities of AI.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Transfers have been cancelled if, as Foster says, a player’s character is judged not to be a good fit.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Maybe the Pac-12 and Mountain West will look silly for not buying in, then watch as the NFC West bids against the Premier League and Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Hornets.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Since then, the fizzy dance challenge has exploded on TikTok, with tons of fans re-creating the clip’s silly dance moves in their kitchens, parking garages, living rooms, Times Square and hospital corridors.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This wacko crew was one of the greatest things in the history of television.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
His search takes him to a wacko cult in the desert run by a scamster, and that of course puts the sheriff in deadly danger.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
6 July 2025
Adjective
-
Your day-to-day life would be insane!—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
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Defense lawyers had argued during the trial that Taylor was legally insane at the time of the offense.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
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The crackpots are the mainstream.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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When federal policy creates an opportunity to bring additional resources into a state’s education ecosystem, leaders would be foolish to ignore it.—
Susana A. Mendoza,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
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The fear of looking foolish lasts a moment.—
Brendan Keegan,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loony. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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