1
as in psychotic
having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind
a cuckoo woman who wandered around town carefully gathering up useless trash
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
offered a completely cuckoo suggestion for using the defunct strip mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
one cuckoo at the campground tried to boil soup in a plastic cup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in goose
a silly flighty person
didn't want to be among those cuckoos who race around the mall the day before Christmas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of cuckoo
Frank Pallotta, CNN, 27 Sep. 2022
By peeping on cuckoo chicks during development, McClelland and her colleagues have homed in on one of the major strategies these birds, and several others like them, use to achieve their super-swole status at such a young age.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 26 Oct. 2021
Jared Del Rosso, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
Two individual cuckoos were sighted or recorded in two separate locations on July 6 and July 25.
—Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cuckoo
Adjective
If that wasn’t enough, the internet went deeply cuckoo trying to figure out if Styles spat on co-star Chris Pine’s lap during the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
—Frank Pallotta, CNN, 27 Sep. 2022
By peeping on cuckoo chicks during development, McClelland and her colleagues have homed in on one of the major strategies these birds, and several others like them, use to achieve their super-swole status at such a young age.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 26 Oct. 2021
Noun
The loss of common cuckoos, meanwhile, means that spring arrives in the U.K. without its iconic song.
—Jared Del Rosso, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
Two individual cuckoos were sighted or recorded in two separate locations on July 6 and July 25.
—Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 14 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cuckoo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cuckoo
Adjective
-
The counselor also told police Trotman had had a previous psychotic break in which he was found wandering the woods.—
Peter Hermann,
Washington Post,
7 Feb. 2023
-
Lewis prescribed Price anti-psychotic medication after a mental health referral Sept. 1.—
Thomas Saccente,
Arkansas Online,
17 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
But the Liberals are an electoral machine—something of a rarity on the center-left—that would be foolish to bet against.—
Daniel Block,
The Atlantic,
29 Apr. 2025
-
His cigars weren’t as nasty as his habit of chasing bad money with worse—high living and foolish investments, with second-rate writing meant to plug the gap.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
And a guinea pig, chickens, ducks, finches, a goose, rabbits, donkeys, pigs, a cow, goats, horses… Our family consisted of a menagerie of species.—
Chi Varnado,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2025
-
On Easter Sunday, Duhamel took to Instagram and shared a video of himself in a blue suit removing a goose from the grille of his SUV.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
With his shock of spiky hair and adrenaline rushes, Smith turns a corporate villain into a lunatic new-wave frontman.—
Charles McNultyTheater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2023
-
The first personality is the lunatic, chaotic artist, with no limits.—
John Bleasdale,
Variety,
8 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
In one sense, this isn’t an entirely stupid proposition.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
3 May 2025
-
Vel rails against the offender, saying her lover was the kind of warrior the Ghor rebels are trying to be and that her loss is both incalculable and stupid.—
Noel Murray,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Presidents fought an undeclared war against Afghanistan for two decades costing $2.3 trillion on a fool’s errand concluding in a defeat by the Taliban.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
1 May 2025
-
The Lakers’ No. 1 defense over a 24-game stretch from mid-January through early March was fool’s gold, with Hayes’ play being the most unsustainable part.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Noun
-
It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.—
Ego Nwodim,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Contrary to popular belief, peanuts are actually not nuts.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
30 Mar. 2023
-
Nonetheless, April 5, 2022, was nuts.—
Childs Walker,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Cuckoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cuckoo. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share