/ˈæn.tɪk/
OriginProbably from Italian antico (“ancient”), used to describe ancient wall paintings from classical times, from Latin antiquus (“venerable”). See also Italian grottesco (“grotesque”). Doublet of antique.
- Playful, funny, absurd.
“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 mashi”
- Grotesque, incongruous.
“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.”
- archaicGrotesque, bizarre
“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 c”
“[…]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.”
- obsoleteA grotesque representation of a figure; a gargoyle.
- A caricature.
- in-plural, oftenA ludicrous gesture or act; ridiculous behaviour; caper.
“I'm fed up with your constant antics in class. Please behave yourself!”
“Two sets of manners, could the youth put on; / And, fraught with antics as the Indian bird / That writhes and chatters in her wiry cage, / Was graceful, when it pleased him, smooth and still / As the ”
“The woman opened the cover now and then, whereupon the kitten would put out its head, and indulge in playful antics.”
- A grotesque performer or clown, buffoon.
“The Grave-maker, like the professional fools and Falstaff, and like Hamlet himself, is an antic, a grotesque, one who demonstrates to men how foolish and”
- A pose, often exaggerated, in anticipation of an action; for example, a brief squat before jumping
- intransitiveTo perform antics, to caper.
“Jerry no more than cocked a contemptuous quizzical eye at the mainsail anticking above him. He knew already the empty windiness of its threats, but he was careful of the mainsheet blocks, and walked a”
- obsoleteTo make a fool of, to cause to look ridiculous.
“Gentle lords, let's part; / You see we have burnt our cheeks: strong Enobarb / Is weaker than the wine; and mine own tongue / Splits what it speaks: the wild disguise hath almost / Antick'd us all.”
“Whether one's surroundings were anticked up or not, one often felt one was living in another century at Roque.”
“Surtees became a friend of Walter Scott and played a very "anticking" joke upon the author.”
- rare, transitiveTo perform (an action) as an antic; to mimic ridiculously.
“She unfastened her dress, her arms arched thin and high, her shadow anticking her movements.”
Formsmore antic(comparative) · most antic(superlative) · antick(alternative, obsolete) · antics(plural) · antics(present, singular, third-person) · anticking(participle, present) · anticked(participle, past) · anticked(past)