1
as in harlequin
a comically dressed performer (as at a circus) who entertains with playful tricks and ridiculous behavior
a clown wearing big floppy shoes and a red wig
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2
as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
you should stay away from that clown
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to cut up
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clown
Alida Becker, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Now, a scary new criminal clown has joined the ransomware circus and looks like making quite a splash as the first victims fall in less than two weeks after its launch.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Samantha Riedel, Them, 20 Mar. 2025
While Mi-kyung and Baek-ho resist falling in love, the drama keeps the plot in motion with plenty of hate-to-love quibbling, some pratfalls and ample clowning around by a host of eccentric characters.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clown
Noun
Menke is an inveterate clown whose life — and death — challenge conventional attempts to confront the horror of the Holocaust.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Now, a scary new criminal clown has joined the ransomware circus and looks like making quite a splash as the first victims fall in less than two weeks after its launch.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
But beyond clowning him on Threads and Bluesky, Wilson and he are strangers.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 20 Mar. 2025
While Mi-kyung and Baek-ho resist falling in love, the drama keeps the plot in motion with plenty of hate-to-love quibbling, some pratfalls and ample clowning around by a host of eccentric characters.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clown
Noun
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Pity the poor actor who has to co-star opposite a 150-pound harlequin Great Dane.—
Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 Apr. 2025
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The role of Apollo goes to a magnificent fellow named Bing, a harlequin Great Dane with one brown eye, one blue, and an exceptionally expressive pair of eyebrows.—
Sheri Linden,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The bulletin issued by Ukraine's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UA) on March 18 indicates that attacks started this month, with Signal messages containing links to archived messages, masquerading as meeting reports.—
Joanne Stocker,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2025
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The group later took heat for putting out what some saw as pop sensibility masquerading as punk.—
Mike Isaac,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Skrillex has never restricted his distension of sonic materials to merely supersizing his bass lines, and among other things, the voices on this album are routinely phased and retuned and cut up.—
Michaelangelo Matos,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2025
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Here, Pulisic cuts up the left channel to offer a destination for a through ball.—
Jeff Rueter,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Once infused with the diabolical spirit, the guide is transformed into a buffoon, complete with a harlequin outfit—a mad joker and a dancing fool who does a little jig to the sound of a jazz trio.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
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Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service.—
Claude Malhuret,
The Atlantic,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But this Ron Howard was an alternate universe version of Ron Howard, who instead of being notoriously nice, is sort of a jerk.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2025
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Someone actually just said to me that all the men in the book are jerks.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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By the close of their show, after having mimed chasing after the performance’s nonexistent plot, Tatarsky sat at the head of a table, facing the audience, eating Life cereal with milk, with their hands, out of an empty skull, and at one point chewed and swallowed a cigarette.—
Priscilla Posada,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2025
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From the very beginnings of filmmaking, with Charlie Chaplin finding fame during the silent era through the use of miming, cinema has relied on more than just sound.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Elsewhere, two boys, Frank and Alain, get up to assorted mischief, sneaking onto a baseball diamond at night or horsing around on railroad tracks, although there are hints that Frank’s family may leave Cuba soon.—
Ben Kenigsberg,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025
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In the video, Payne is shown horsing around with a large outdoor crowd and his bandmates, encouraging the fans to quiet their screaming and then raise the volume all the way back up.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Kathy Griffin says man is 'harassing' her with questions about Trump Kathy Griffin says ex Jack Black told her to dry off with bath mat towel This isn't the first health scare the comedian has faced in recent years.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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On the first episode of Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney, Netflix’s new talk show, the comedian gathered a panel of 11 actors who have played Willy Loman, the tragic protagonist of the classic play Death of a Salesman.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clown. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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