funniest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of funny.

   Of all the comedians on the bill, he was easily the funniest.

   The funniest moment of the evening came right at the end.

   Note

   Built the way most two-syllable adjectives in -y are: the y turns to i and -est is added, with no need for most in front. It carries both halves of funny. David Gunston's 1958 praise of a Keaton picture as the funniest film about railways ever made means the most comical. The funniest feeling, by contrast, is the strangest. Context, not form, tells the two apart.

2. 2
   adverb

   Superlative of funny.

   Of all the guests, Uncle Ray danced the funniest.

   Of all of them, he behaved funniest at the reunion.

   Note

   The adverb rests on a nonstandard use of funny that means "strangely": to act funny is to act oddly. Its superlative keeps that informal footing, so he behaved funniest of all belongs to casual speech. Careful writing reaches for most strangely or most oddly instead. The spelling follows the adjective. One caution: funny as an adverb also has an offensive Jamaican use, so context matters.

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