clown
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a performer who wears funny clothes and face paint to make people laugh, usually in a circus.
n.a comic entertainer, especially in a circus, who wears a traditional costume and exaggerated make-up to perform slapstick comedy.
Simple“The children laughed when the clown with the big red nose tripped over his own shoes.”
In context“The circus featured a classic routine where ten clowns emerged from a tiny car to the delight of the audience.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.someone who acts in a silly way or makes a lot of jokes to get attention.
n.a person who habitually behaves in a foolish or playful way, often to amuse others.
Simple“Stop being such a clown and help me finish this serious project.”
In context“Every office has a resident clown who uses humour to deflect from the stress of quarterly deadlines.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who is rude, clumsy, or has no manners.
n.a person of coarse manners or awkward behaviour; historically used for a rustic or ill-bred individual.
Simple“The old book described the villain as a rude clown who knew nothing of city life.”
In context“In the Shakespearean sense, the character is less a circus performer and more a country clown whose lack of social grace provides the comedy.”
Synonymsbooryokelchurl - 04 B1 Intermediate
v.to behave in a silly or playful way to make people laugh.
v.to behave in a comical or foolish manner, often as a form of play or distraction.
Simple“The students were clowning around in the back of the classroom instead of studying.”
In context“The athletes were seen clowning around during the warm-up, showing little of the focus expected for a championship final.”
UsageOften used with the particle 'around'.
Synonyms
From earlier clowne, cloyne (“man of rustic or coarse manners, boor, peasant”); likely of North Germanic origin, akin to Icelandic klunni (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Swedish kluns (“clumsy fellow”), all from Middle Low German klunz, from klunt (“pile, lump, something thick”); according to Pokorny, this could be related to a group of Germanic derivatives of Proto-Indo-European gel- (“to ball up; amass”), such as Proto-West Germanic klott (“lump”), Proto-Germanic klūtaz (“clod, lump”), kultaz (“lump, bundle”), etc. Alternatively, directly from Low German (compare North Frisian klönne (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Dutch kluns (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Dutch kloen (“uncouth person, lout”)), themselves from the same ultimate source as above. Unlikely from Latin colōnus (“colonist, farmer”), although learned awareness of this term may have influenced semantic development.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.