clown
1 of 2noun
ˈklau̇n 
1
: farmer, countryman
2
: a rude ill-bred person : boor
3
a
: a fool, jester, or comedian in an entertainment (such as a play)
specifically : a grotesquely dressed comedy performer in a circus
b
: a person who habitually jokes and plays the buffoon
c
: joker sense 1b
clown
2 of 2verb
clowned; clowning; clowns
intransitive verb
: to act as or like a clown
always clowning around
Synonyms
Noun
- buffo
- buffoon
- harlequin
- zany
Verb
- act up
- cut up
- fool around
- horse around
- hotdog
- monkey (around)
- show off
- showboat
- skylark
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun Those big shoes make you look like a clown! Who's the clown standing in the middle of the road? those clowns at the state capital
Recent Examples on the Web
Ellie Beeck, PEOPLE.com, 21 July 2022 Rodeo clown Avery Ford, known by the stage name Spanky, will also entertain the crowd with his antics. Laura Latzko, The Arizona Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Arkham video game series took Harley out of her harlequin jumpsuit for the first time and put her in a nurse's outfit, which was then accessorized with a leather corset and clown-like makeup. Corinne Sullivan, Good Housekeeping, 26 Aug. 2022 Brown also plans a line of clown T-shirts and pillowcases, the proceeds of which would buy medicine for childrens’ hospitals. John Howell, ELLE Decor, 11 Aug. 2022 Slapstick comedian Jerry Lewis’ unfinished and unreleased 1972 film has the entertainer playing a circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Aug. 2022 Most strikingly, though, there are the masks—grim rubber visages ranging from a leering pig face to a deranged clown to an exhumed Rasta corpse. Matthias Clamer, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2022 Two hurricane-glass cocktails transcended their clown-shoe presentations with a deft mix of rum and bitters (Queen’s Park Swizzle) and a layered blend of sherries and fig (Sherry Cobbler). Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 4 Aug. 2022 Its plot follows Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a clown and aspiring stand-up comic who sends Gotham City into a period of darkness and violence after transforming himself into the legendary DC antagonist. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2022 Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2021 The internet, righteous in its bitterness, immediately began to clown the man and his WandaVision cosplay, but Uzi logged on to explain that the diamond is actually centered, brokies. Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2021 The song that gave the entire United Kingdom a chance to clown on Taylor Swift, which is the best gift the nation has received from an American since FDR’s Lend-Lease program. Nate Jones, Vulture, 11 Jan. 2021 Even McCarthy clowned him by imitating the eldest Kardashian’s famously monotone voice. Rachel Yang, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2020 This particular compound of grandiosity and insecurity is an artisanal microbrew, and McElhenney does good work clowning his eyebrows into attitudes expressive of pure contempt and unsteady comprehension. Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2020 There’s one acceptable outcome to their season, and reality-check losses like this one help them get closer to that a lot more than starting 8-0 by clowning clueless teams like Washington, the Jets, and the Browns. BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 That didn’t stop fans from clowning Bosa after the 49ers loss. cleveland, 3 Feb. 2020 However, not everyone who lives near the location is thrilled with the Joker fans clowning around. Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 23 Oct. 2019 See More
Noun
Harris posed as a circus ringmaster, and Burtka was unrecognizable as a scary clown. Ellie Beeck, PEOPLE.com, 21 July 2022 Rodeo clown Avery Ford, known by the stage name Spanky, will also entertain the crowd with his antics. Laura Latzko, The Arizona Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Arkham video game series took Harley out of her harlequin jumpsuit for the first time and put her in a nurse's outfit, which was then accessorized with a leather corset and clown-like makeup. Corinne Sullivan, Good Housekeeping, 26 Aug. 2022 Brown also plans a line of clown T-shirts and pillowcases, the proceeds of which would buy medicine for childrens’ hospitals. John Howell, ELLE Decor, 11 Aug. 2022 Slapstick comedian Jerry Lewis’ unfinished and unreleased 1972 film has the entertainer playing a circus clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Aug. 2022 Most strikingly, though, there are the masks—grim rubber visages ranging from a leering pig face to a deranged clown to an exhumed Rasta corpse. Matthias Clamer, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2022 Two hurricane-glass cocktails transcended their clown-shoe presentations with a deft mix of rum and bitters (Queen’s Park Swizzle) and a layered blend of sherries and fig (Sherry Cobbler). Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 4 Aug. 2022 Its plot follows Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a clown and aspiring stand-up comic who sends Gotham City into a period of darkness and violence after transforming himself into the legendary DC antagonist. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2022 Verb
The image staring back at her doesn’t clown her or give her props on a life well-done. Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2021 The internet, righteous in its bitterness, immediately began to clown the man and his WandaVision cosplay, but Uzi logged on to explain that the diamond is actually centered, brokies. Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2021 The song that gave the entire United Kingdom a chance to clown on Taylor Swift, which is the best gift the nation has received from an American since FDR’s Lend-Lease program. Nate Jones, Vulture, 11 Jan. 2021 Even McCarthy clowned him by imitating the eldest Kardashian’s famously monotone voice. Rachel Yang, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2020 This particular compound of grandiosity and insecurity is an artisanal microbrew, and McElhenney does good work clowning his eyebrows into attitudes expressive of pure contempt and unsteady comprehension. Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2020 There’s one acceptable outcome to their season, and reality-check losses like this one help them get closer to that a lot more than starting 8-0 by clowning clueless teams like Washington, the Jets, and the Browns. BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 That didn’t stop fans from clowning Bosa after the 49ers loss. cleveland, 3 Feb. 2020 However, not everyone who lives near the location is thrilled with the Joker fans clowning around. Georgia Slater, PEOPLE.com, 23 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
probably of Low German origin; akin to Frisian klönne clumsy fellow, Old English clyne lump of metal
First Known Use
Noun
1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1599, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing clown
Kids Definition
clown 1 of 2
noun
ˈklau̇n
1
: a performer (as in a circus) who entertains by playing tricks and who usually wears comical clothes and makeup
2
: someone who does things to make people laugh
clown
2 of 2verb
clowned; clowning
: to act in a funny or silly way : act like a clown
clowning 1 of 2
noun
as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior our coworker's clowning was distracting, but fun to watch Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- joking
- clownery
- buffoonery
- funning
- tomfoolery
- monkeying
- slapstick
- horseplay
- playfulness
- roughhousing
- skylarking
- hijinks
- foolery
- roughhouse
- silliness
- monkey business
- high jinks
- jesting
- horsing around
- monkeyshine(s)
- shenanigan(s)
- clownishness
- mischief
- nonsense
- sporting
- boisterousness
- childishness
- trickery
- frivolity
- foolishness
- roguishness
- rambunctiousness
- rowdiness
- cavorting
- rowdyism
- rascality
- frolicking
- merrymaking
- waggery
- roistering
- impishness
- romping
- roguery
- mischievousness
- sportiveness
- gamboling
- revelry
- knavery
- deviltry
- devilry
- prankishness
- rumbustiousness
- gambolling
clowning
2 of 2verb
1
as in miming
Synonyms & Similar Words
- miming
- hamming
- masquerading
- imitating
- overacting
- mimicking
- aping
- underplaying
- overplaying
- pantomiming
- playacting
- enacting
- acting out
- dramatizing
- role-playing
- acting
- performing
- costarring
- posing (as)
- playing
- taking on
- rendering
- coacting
- impersonating
- interpreting
- depicting
- representing
- portraying
- co-acting
- co-starring
- doing
- starring (in)
2
as in dancing
Synonyms & Similar Words
- dancing
- roughhousing
- skylarking
- carousing
- roistering
- cutting up
- joyriding
- horsing around
- capering
- prancing
- fooling around
- reveling
- kiting
- carrying on
- leaping
- revelling
- cavorting
- larking
- loping
- hopping
- curvetting
- romping
- frolicking
- rollicking
- gamboling
- tumbling
- sporting
- skipping
- frisking
- curveting
- bounding
- tripping
- springing
- gambolling
- disporting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- pouting
- moping
- sulking
- stewing