zany (redirected from zaniness)

za·ny  (zn)

n. pl. za·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. za·ni·er, za·ni·est

1. Ludicrously comical; clownish.

2. Comical because of incongruity or strangeness; bizarre.

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[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.]

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zani·ly adv.

zani·ness n.

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zany [ˈzeɪnɪ]

adj -nier, -niest

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

n pl -nies

1. (Performing Arts / Theatre) a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect

2. a ludicrous or foolish person

[from Italian zanni, from dialect (Venice and Lombardy) Zanni, nickname for Giovanni John; one of the traditional names for a clown]

zanily  adv

zaniness  n

zanyism  n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	zany - a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect merry andrew, buffoon, clown, goof, goofball - a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
	2.	zany - a man who is a stupid incompetent fool bozo, cuckoo, fathead, goof, goofball, jackass, twat, goose fool, muggins, saphead, tomfool, sap - a person who lacks good judgment
Adj.	1.	zany - ludicrous, foolish; "gave me a cockamamie reason for not going"; "wore a goofy hat"; "a silly idea"; "some wacky plan for selling more books" cockamamie, cockamamy, goofy, sappy, silly, wacky, whacky colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech foolish - devoid of good sense or judgment; "foolish remarks"; "a foolish decision"
	2.	zany - like a clown; "a buffoonish walk"; "a clownish face"; "a zany sense of humor" buffoonish, clownish, clownlike humorous, humourous - full of or characterized by humor; "humorous stories"; "humorous cartoons"; "in a humorous vein"

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zany

adjective comical, crazy, nutty (slang), funny, eccentric, wacky (slang), loony (slang), oddball (informal), madcap, goofy (informal), kooky (U.S. informal), out there (slang), clownish, wacko or whacko (informal) the zany humour of the Marx Brothers

Translations

zany [ˈzeɪnɪ] ADJ (zanier (compar) (zaniest (superl))) → estrafalario, surrealista

zany [ˈzeɪni] adj → farfelu(e), loufoque

zany

adj (+er) (= crazy, funny) → verrückt; person also → irrsinnig komisch

n (Theat Hist) → Narr m, → Hanswurst m

zany [ˈzeɪnɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (fam) → pazzoide, un po' pazzo/a