clown vs zany

clown and zany both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
clown	Yes	No	Yes	No
zany	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, zany is a hyponym of clown; that is, zany is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than clown:

clown: a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
zany: a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect

Other hyponyms of clown include harlequin, fool, jester, motley fool, whiteface.

clown (noun)	zany (noun)
a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior	a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect
a rude or vulgar fool	a man who is a stupid incompetent fool

clown (adjective)	zany (adjective)
	ludicrous, foolish
	like a clown

clown (verb)	zany (verb)
act as or like a clown