clownish

adjective

clown·​ish ˈklau̇-nish 

: resembling or befitting a clown (as in ignorance and lack of sophistication)

clownishly adverb

clownishness noun

Synonyms

• boorish
• churlish
• classless
• cloddish
• loutish
• uncouth

Choose the Right Synonym for clownish

boorish, churlish, loutish, clownish mean uncouth in manners or appearance.

boorish implies rudeness of manner due to insensitiveness to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable.

a drunk's boorish behavior

churlish suggests surliness, unresponsiveness, and ungraciousness.

churlish remarks

loutish implies bodily awkwardness together with stupidity.

a loutish oaf

clownish suggests ill-bred awkwardness, ignorance or stupidity, ungainliness, and often a propensity for absurd antics.

an adolescent's clownish conduct

Examples of clownish in a Sentence

the clownish antics of some of the teenagers at the wedding reception

Recent Examples on the Web

In the days after the protests came the death of former CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin, an avuncular and garrulous (if sometimes clownish) leader. —Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2022

That’s when the descriptions of the clownish gunman surfaced. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2024

Del Real: Re has something very playful and absurd about it, without becoming clownish. —Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2024

Under the clownish leadership of Mayor Adams, Eddie Caban, John Chell, Jeff Maddrey and Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD has become the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 9 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1563, in the meaning defined above