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Synonyms

zany

American  
[zey-nee] / ˈzeɪ ni /

adjective

zanier, zaniest

  1. ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.

noun

plural

zanies

  1. one who plays the clown or fool in order to amuse others.

  2. a comically wild or eccentric person.

    Synonyms:
    lunatic, crazy, kook

  3. a secondary stock character in old comedies who mimicked his master.

  4. a professional buffoon; clown.

  5. a silly person; simpleton.

  6. a slavish attendant or follower.

zany British  
/ ˈzeɪnɪ /

adjective

  1. comical in an endearing way; imaginatively funny or comical, esp in behaviour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect

  2. a ludicrous or foolish person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • zanily adverb
  • zaniness noun
  • zanyish adjective
  • zanyism noun

Etymology

Origin of zany

1560–70; (< Middle French ) < Italian zan ( n ) i (later zanno ) a servant character in the commedia dell’arte, perhaps originally the character's name, the Upper Italian form of Tuscan Gianni, for Giovanni John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.