zany
zany Lexical Profile
zany Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Amusingly unconventional, eccentric, or idiosyncratic in a comical way.
"The sitcom became an overnight success thanks to its zany cast of characters and absurd storylines."
• noun
An erratic, comical, or eccentric person who behaves like a buffoon.
"He played the role of the lovable zany in almost every school theatre production."
In historical theatre and commedia dell'arte, a subordinate clown or acrobat who mimics the tricks of the principal fool.
"In Renaissance comedy, the zany delighted audiences with exaggerated physical tumbles and botched schemes."
• Rhymes for zany
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 16th century from French zani or Italian zanni, the traditional stock character of a comic servant in commedia dell'arte, originally a Venetian dialect diminutive of the given name Giovanni ('John').