Antic

/ˈæn.tɪk/ · adjective

Meaning

Playful, funny, absurd..

Definitions by Sense

1. Playful, funny, absurd.
2. (architecture, art) Grotesque, incongruous.
3. (archaic) Grotesque, bizarre
4. Archaic form of antique.
5. (architecture, art, obsolete) A grotesque representation of a figure; a gargoyle.
6. A caricature.
7. (often in the plural) A ludicrous gesture or act; ridiculous behaviour; caper.
8. A grotesque performer or clown, buffoon.

Example Sentences

My men like Satyres grazing on the lawnes, Shall with their Goate feete daunce an antick hay,

In recounting the story of Lenny and Eunice in his antic, supercaffeinated prose, Mr. Shteyngart gives us his most powerful and heartfelt novel yet — a novel that performs the delightful feat of mashing up an apocalyptic satire with a genuine supersad true love story.

The amusement park environment of seaside resorts such as Venice and the antic eclecticism of Greene & Greene's pre-Craftsman work all preceded the establishment of the movie colony in Hollywood.

Fetch me my Rapier Boy, what dares the ſlaue / Come hither, couer'd with an antique face, / To fleere and ſcorne at our Solemnitie?

[…] we all three enter'd the Gate of the Palace between two Rows of Guards, armed and dreſſed after a very antick manner, and ſomething in their Countenances that made my Fleſh creep with a Horror I cannot expreſs.

[…]a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces, with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.

I'm fed up with your constant antics in class. Please behave yourself!

Pintsize: Wait, don’t you want to know why I’m tied up and hanging from the ceiling? / Faye: Not really. Nighty night! / Pintsize: Shit! My wacky antics have jumped the shark!

Synonyms for antic

Antonyms for antic

Related Words

Word Forms

• more antic
• most antic
• antick
• anticke
• antics
• anticking
• anticked

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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