clownlike
1
4.8
- adjective
- /ˈklaʊnˌlaɪk/
- 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
14
7.6
Funny and odd in a silly way that makes people laugh
4
4.5
Acting in a silly, exaggerated way like a clown
1
8.3
Silly and exaggerated in a way that looks like a clown
Antonyms
How Silly
Surface Forms
Morphology
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.