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zany

 
Dictionary: za·ny   (') pronunciation
 
n., pl. -nies.
  1. A ludicrous, buffoonish character in old comedies who attempts feebly to mimic the tricks of the clown.
  2. A comical person given to extravagant or outlandish behavior.
adj., -ni·er, -ni·est.
  1. Ludicrously comical; clownish.
  2. Comical because of incongruity or strangeness; bizarre.

[French zani, from Italian dialectal zanni, from Zanni, variant of Italian Gianni, nickname for Giovanni, John, the name of servants who act as clowns in commedia dell'arte.]

zanily za'ni·ly adv.
zaniness za'ni·ness n.
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Thesaurus: zany
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noun

    A person whose words or actions provoke or are intended to provoke amusement or laughter: clown, comedian, comic, farceur, funnyman, humorist, jester, joker, jokester, quipster, wag2, wit. Informal card. See laughter.

adjective

  1. Arousing laughter: amusing, comic, comical, droll, funny, humorous, laughable, risible. See laughter.
  2. So senseless as to be laughable: absurd, foolish, harebrained, idiotic, imbecilic, insane, lunatic, mad, moronic, nonsensical, preposterous, silly, softheaded, tomfool, unearthly. Informal cockeyed, crazy, loony, loopy. Slang balmy2, dippy, dopey, jerky, sappy, wacky. See ability/inability, knowledge/ignorance.

 
Antonyms: zany
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adj

Definition: crazy, funny
Antonyms: serious


 
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

A popular character in old Italian plays, who imitated with ludicrous incompetence the buffone, or clown, and was therefore the ape of an ape; for the clown himself imitated the serious characters of the play. The zany was progenitor to the specialist in humor, as we to-day have the unhappiness to know him. In the zany we see an example of creation; in the humorist, of transmission. Another excellent specimen of the modern zany is the curate, who apes the rector, who apes the bishop, who apes the archbishop, who apes the devil.


 
Translations: Zany
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skær, latterlig, tåbelig, naragtig
n. - tåbe, nar, bajads

Nederlands (Dutch)
gek (komisch), pias, kolderiek

Français (French)
adj. - loufoque, dingue, toqué, cinglé
n. - (Théât) bouffon, zan(n)i

Deutsch (German)
adj. - albern, Wahnsinns-
n. - Clown, Narr

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - θεοπάλαβος
n. - γελωτοποιός, παλαβιάρης

Italiano (Italian)
buffone, sempliciotto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - cômico
n. - bobo (m), comediante (m)

Русский (Russian)
дурак, клоун, смешной, фиглярский, подражать

Español (Spanish)
adj. - estrafalario, absurdo
n. - bufón, truhán

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - clownaktig, komisk, stollig, tokig
n. - gycklare, dumbom, pajas, narr, dåre

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
滑稽的, 愚蠢的, 小丑, 丑角, 笨人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 滑稽的, 愚蠢的
n. - 小丑, 丑角, 笨人

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 어릿광대 같은, 짝없이 어리석은, 미치광이 같은
n. - 바보, 어릿광대, 알랑쇠

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - おどけた
n. - 道化役, 道化師

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) احمق, مغفل, ساذج (الاسم) متملق, متزلف, مهرج‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מצחיק ומטופש או מטורף‬
n. - ‮ליצן, מוקיון‬


 
 
Learn More
zanyism
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Speaking of Animals, Vol. 2 (1983 Comedy Film)

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Devil's Dictionary. Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, 1911  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

 

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