as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment
what zaniness possessed you to take a mental health day when you knew that the head honcho would be visiting?
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Recent Examples of zaniness
Shows like Ted Lasso and Shrinking have proven how, with five to 10 extra minutes per episode, zaniness and seriousness can go hand-in-hand.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
Plenty of moments on The Fall-Off remind of the hunger of his early mixtapes, the purposeful thrills of his 2010s hits, or even the misguided zaniness of KOD, though none materialize in meaningful doses.
—Benny Sun, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2026
Those moments allowed O’Hara, in a mostly straight role, to add bits of signature zaniness.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
The frothy zaniness was, of course, one of Barry’s Hollywood calling cards, but there always were serious themes submerged underneath.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
The ensemble comedy garnered critical praise for its steady stream of zaniness and quickly gained a reputation for deftly skewering suburban life while still maintaining a general sweetness of tone.
—Will Harris, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Animated by an irreverent zaniness, Egger’s poetry fuses elements drawn from contemporary idiom and from lyric tradition to render a surreal world that interrogates existential questions about desire and grief.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Crowds jumped, chanted and leaned into the sense of communal rebellion, all while celebrating the band's zaniness.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
The ball sailed over the head of Spencer Torkelson, Martínez and Steven Kwan advanced a base and set in motion a flurry of zaniness that flipped the script for the series opener.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
Plenty of moments on The Fall-Off remind of the hunger of his early mixtapes, the purposeful thrills of his 2010s hits, or even the misguided zaniness of KOD, though none materialize in meaningful doses.
—Benny Sun, Pitchfork, 10 Feb. 2026
Those moments allowed O’Hara, in a mostly straight role, to add bits of signature zaniness.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
The frothy zaniness was, of course, one of Barry’s Hollywood calling cards, but there always were serious themes submerged underneath.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
The ensemble comedy garnered critical praise for its steady stream of zaniness and quickly gained a reputation for deftly skewering suburban life while still maintaining a general sweetness of tone.
—Will Harris, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
Animated by an irreverent zaniness, Egger’s poetry fuses elements drawn from contemporary idiom and from lyric tradition to render a surreal world that interrogates existential questions about desire and grief.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Crowds jumped, chanted and leaned into the sense of communal rebellion, all while celebrating the band's zaniness.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
The ball sailed over the head of Spencer Torkelson, Martínez and Steven Kwan advanced a base and set in motion a flurry of zaniness that flipped the script for the series opener.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zaniness
Noun
-
Attached to it is a video of Andrea Yates, the real Texas woman who drowned her five children amid an episode of postpartum psychosis and was found not guilty by reason of insanity, per the New York Times.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
-
To punish her company is an act of insanity.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Chiefs lost safety Bryan Cook to the Bengals in the early madness of the negotiating window Monday.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The two have been good friends ever since and Peterman knows exactly how to help her friend get through the planning and organizational madness that comes with planning a wedding.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Something about the simplicity of that, coupled with the canyon’s display of deep time, reminded me how small and temporary my own existence was, and therefore how precious.—
Rosecrans Baldwin,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Some approaches to astrophotography emphasize simplicity and portability, while others reward patience and precision.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The latest addition to the genre, AMC’s The Audacity, captures all the absurdities, egos, and jargon of the tech scene as deftly as its predecessors.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
In typical 30 Rock fashion, the bit reaches the height of absurdity when someone informs Arthur that some of the tennis balls are meant to be actual tennis balls in the scene.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The fact that that happened to us is insanity and craziness.—
Peter D'Oench,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Thank you for dealing with my craziness over the last couple months.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There’s absolutely skill involved, but there’s also a lot of wackiness there, too, with random bounces deciding which teams get breakaways or odd-man rushes.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
But wackiness aside, the nuts and bolts of recruiting go far beyond what antics coaches get up to on the road.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Zaniness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zaniness. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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