zaniness

noun

Definition of zaninessnext
as in insanity
lack of good sense or judgment what zaniness possessed you to take a mental health day when you knew that the head honcho would be visiting?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for zaniness
  1. insanity
  2. madness
  3. simplicity
  4. absurdity
Noun
  • Gein was found guilty of first-degree murder; in a separate trial to determine his mental competence, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
    Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Postpartum mental illnesses can be insidious and take many different forms, but the prosecution’s depiction of Lindsay challenged the stereotypical assumptions about insanity that had seemingly informed the public’s initial sympathy.
    Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Definition of insanity
Noun
  • But Melina always fascinated Lila — the authenticity of madness, untethered from the social mores that dominated their environment, made sense for Lila.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Schedule madness Schools will play 18 conference games.
    Beth Harris, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2024
Definition of madness
Noun
  • The production’s simplicity ditched the cliches that have accumulated around the play over decades.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Raines believes that simplicity also applies to his politics.
    Terry Collins, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
Definition of simplicity
Noun
  • On the floor above a woman sweeps the floor, an act of absurdity that doubles as bravery, the whole scene a desperate attempt at normalcy in a world that has become anything but.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Accentuating the absurdity of the gold rush, one of the screenwriters of Mezrich’s project, Lauren Schuker Blum, was competing with her husband, the producer Jason Blum, who was racing to get HBO’s project developed.
    Simon van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of absurdity
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near zaniness

zanies

zaniness

zany

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Zaniness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zaniness. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond