as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a zany plan to drive cross-country on a motorized scooter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in clown
a comically dressed performer (as at a circus) who entertains with playful tricks and ridiculous behavior
hired a zany to entertain the children at the birthday party
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
one of the challenges of hosting a radio call-in program is preventing the zanies from completely taking over the discussion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of zany
Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Dec. 2025
Audiences find different pleasures in Clue, from its over-the-top plot to its zany characters.
—Nathan Smith, Architectural Digest, 22 Dec. 2025
Hillenburg died in 2018, but his wholly unique, zany world lives on, now four features in.
—Lindsey Bahr, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Emily Ratajkowski's interpretation of Marge Simpson from The Simpsons at Klum's 2015 Heidi Halloween was perfectly zany for the occasion.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zany
Adjective
Malcolm in the Middle, the zany kid-friendly sitcom from the early aughts, is returning for a four-episode revival miniseries on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on April 10.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Dec. 2025
Audiences find different pleasures in Clue, from its over-the-top plot to its zany characters.
—Nathan Smith, Architectural Digest, 22 Dec. 2025
Hillenburg died in 2018, but his wholly unique, zany world lives on, now four features in.
—Lindsey Bahr, Boston Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Emily Ratajkowski's interpretation of Marge Simpson from The Simpsons at Klum's 2015 Heidi Halloween was perfectly zany for the occasion.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zany
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zany
Adjective
-
Don’t feel silly asking at the ski shop.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Walker offers this diagnosis himself, leeringly dismissing Pearl as a silly mommy, awash with hormones, mildly and minorly hysterical.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The judge in front of me spent most of the time looking at the ground, leading ace AP boxing writer Ed Schuyler to write an entire story about the clown.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
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Deep cherry red, black, and white come together to create a whimsical world of dice, cards, sad clowns, and a ticking pocketwatch.—
Samantha Brash,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Catherine O’Hara portrayed ridiculous eccentrics with equal parts hilarity and humanity.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Greg Brown, the original guitarist and co-founding member of ’90s alt-rock eccentrics Cake, has died.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But maybe Johnson isn’t stupid.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Such as the one where the candidate remarked that some white rural Americans were stupid and racist.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Rather than the usual crisscross pattern, Holmes’ sweater features solid block diamonds in bold colors for a harlequin look that is honestly a breath of fresh air.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
27 Jan. 2026
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In these respects, apart from the harlequin excesses of his Stalinism, Cowley is terrifically sound.—
Vince Passaro,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The renegade baseball general manager in Moneyball, for instance, was later played by Brad Pitt, while the characters in The Big Short were portrayed by Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Pitt again, among others.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
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The space’s custom art was created by Amazonian artist Winny Tapajós, portraying a mischievous garden scene full of whimsical characters.—
Devorah Lev-Tov,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Straight men, in particular, are only talked about, kept in the background, or appearing as authority figures trying to uphold absurd laws and traditions.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Pepsi’s chart is absurd and someone’s going to look stupid when the momentum fades.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As will anyone who isn’t a total oddball.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Shi’s bottle list encompasses an idiosyncratic mix of classics and oddballs, including stroppy Austrian natural whites alongside multi-thousand-dollar Burgundies, funky low-intervention oranges from Greece, a few bottles from the Japanese winery Coco Farm.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Zany.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zany. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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