Skip to main content
clownlike

clownlike

4.8
Silly and playful in appearance or behaviour
  • adjective
  • /ˈklaʊnˌlaɪk/
translation icon : parecido a un payaso
  • Yet Hamlet’s clownlike humor and verbal generosity also mask a strange violence; they project the murderousness that made G. Wilson Knight speak of the prince as "the embassy of death."

Examples

  • His bright, mismatched clothing gave him a clownlike appearance that was both amusing and charming.

  • Its broad grin and flattened nose gave it a clownlike expression.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Owen whips his gun left and right in clownlike loops like Harpo Marx, smiling.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • His smooth, boyish face was covered with freckles, and he was wearing a lilac-colored scrub suit and bright orange sneakers, an overall effect that was so clownlike that Lucas wondered for a moment if he was hallucinating.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The child's clownlike antics had everyone in the audience laughing.

  • She always has a clownlike sense of humor, bringing joy and laughter to her friends.

Synonyms

zany
vsclownlike
12 7.6

Funny and odd in a silly way that makes people laugh

is more about resembling a playful performer rather than being oddly unconventional
clownish
vsclownlike
4 4.5

Acting in a silly, exaggerated way like a clown

is used more for general resemblance or trait rather than specific action
buffoonish
vsclownlike
1 8.3

Silly and exaggerated in a way that looks like a clown

is more playful and amusing rather than bluntly ridiculous or embarrassing

Antonyms

452 1.4

Calm and focused, not playful or joking

How Silly

absurd
288 4.4
clownlike
4.8
amusing
208 1.0
playful
79 1.6

Surface Forms

clownlike positive

Morphology

clownlike = clown (transparent) = clown + like

Clear adjectival formation from the noun 'clown' with the productive suffix '-like' meaning 'resembling'.

Etymology

Clownlike comes from clown, a word that first meant a 'clumsy' or 'country' person and later named the funny performer who acts silly to make people laugh. The ending -like means 'similar to', so clownlike describes someone or something that looks or acts like a clown, amusing or playfully foolish.