clown
Americannoun
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a comic performer, as in a circus, theatrical production, or the like, who wears an outlandish costume and makeup and entertains by pantomiming common situations or actions in exaggerated or ridiculous fashion, by juggling or tumbling, etc.
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a person who acts like a clown; comedian; joker; buffoon; jester.
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a prankster; a practical joker.
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Slang. a coarse, ill-bred person; a boor.
- Synonyms:
- bumpkin
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a peasant; rustic.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a comic entertainer, usually grotesquely costumed and made up, appearing in the circus
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any performer who elicits an amused response
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someone who plays jokes or tricks
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a person who acts in a comic or buffoon-like manner
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a coarse clumsy rude person; boor
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archaic a countryman or rustic
verb
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to perform as a clown
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to play jokes or tricks
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to act foolishly
Other Word Forms
- clownery noun
- clownish adjective
- clownishly adverb
- clownishness noun
Etymology
Origin of clown
1555–65; earlier cloyne, clowne, perhaps akin to Old Norse klunni boor, Danish dialect klunds, Swedish dialect klunn log
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It almost feels like my brain is trying to be the class clown."
From BBC
Or maybe it was that the clowning that marked the career of Ron Luciano masked a deeper sadness that finally claimed the life of baseball’s happy warrior in a size-50 extralong dark blazer.
She confided to a close friend, “This book got me feeling like a clown right now.”
From Los Angeles Times
“Robério has studied the clown art in the theater, and he’s a very funny guy, so he adds a component of ridiculousness to this character,” Domingues says.
From Los Angeles Times
Wilson insisted that he wants kids to have “emotional control” to prevent living in a “clown world,” a point that makes sense at first glance.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
