Adjacent Words

Zany definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ZANY, n. A merry andrew; a buffoon.
ZANY, v.t. To mimic.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: ludicrous, foolish; "gave me a cockamamie reason for not going"; "wore a goofy hat"; "a silly idea"; "some wacky plan for selling more books" [syn: cockamamie, cockamamy, goofy, sappy, silly, wacky, whacky, zany]
2: like a clown; "a buffoonish walk"; "a clownish face"; "a zany sense of humor" [syn: buffoonish, clownish, clownlike, zany] n
1: a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect
2: a man who is a stupid incompetent fool [syn: fathead, goof, goofball, bozo, jackass, goose, cuckoo, twat, zany]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural zanies) Etymology: Italian zanni, a traditional masked clown, from Italian dialect Zanni, nickname for Italian Giovanni John Date: 1588 1. a subordinate clown or acrobat in old comedies who mimics ludicrously the tricks of the principal ; merry-andrew 2. a slavish follower ; toady 3. a. one who acts the buffoon to amuse others b. nut, kook II. adjective (zanier; -est) Date: 1609 1. being or having the characteristics of a zany 2. fantastically or absurdly ludicrous <a zany movie> • zanily adverb • zaniness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. (zanier, zaniest) comically idiotic; crazily ridiculous. --n. 1 a buffoon or jester. 2 hist. an attendant clown awkwardly mimicking a chief clown in shows; a merry andrew. Derivatives: zanily adv. zaniness n. Etymology: F zani or It. zan(n)i, Venetian form of Gianni, Giovanni John

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zany Za"ny, v. t. To mimic. [Obs.] Your part is acted; give me leave at distance To zany it. --Massinger.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zany Za"ny, n.; pl. Zanies. [It. zanni a buffoon, merry-andrew, orig. same as Giovanni John, i. e., merry John, L. Ioannes, Gr. ?, Heb. Y[=o]kh[=a]n[=a]n, prop., the Lord graciously gave: cf. F. zani, fr. the Italian. Cf. Jenneting.] A merry-andrew; a buffoon. Then write that I may follow, and so be Thy echo, thy debtor, thy foil, thy zany. --Donne. Preacher at once, and zany of thy age. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(zanier, zaniest) Zany humour or a zany person is strange or eccentric in an amusing way. (INFORMAL) ...the zany humour of the Marx Brothers. = wacky ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Buffoon, clown, jester, droll, merry-andrew, harlequin, punch, punchinello, scaramouch, fool, jack-pudding, pickle-herring.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

The jester, jack pudding, or merry andrew, to a mountebank.

Moby Thesaurus

Columbine, Hanswurst, Harlequin, Pantalone, Pantaloon, Polichinelle, Pulcinella, Punch, Punchinello, Scaramouch, absurd, ament, amusing, ass, banana, born fool, buffo, buffoon, burlesquer, card, caricaturist, clown, clownish, comedian, comic, comical, crackpot, crazy, cretin, cutup, doodle, egregious ass, epigrammatist, exhibitionist, farceur, figure of fun, fool, foolish, frolicsome, funny, funnyman, gag writer, gagman, gagster, gay, goofy, half-wit, harlequin, hilarious, humorist, idiot, ignoramus, imbecile, inane, ironist, jack-pudding, jackass, jester, joker, jokesmith, jokester, kooky, lampooner, loony, ludicrous, lunatic, mad, madcap, merry, merry-andrew, milksop, mooncalf, moron, motley, motley fool, natural, nonsensical, nut, nutty, parodist, perfect fool, pickle-herring, playful, practical joker, prankster, punner, punster, quipster, reparteeist, satirist, schmuck, screwball, show-off, silly, simpleton, slapstick, softhead, sop, sportive, stupid ass, tomfool, trickster, wacky, wag, wagwit, wild, wisecracker, wit, witling