Synonyms of frolic

frolic 1 of 3

noun

1

as in prank

a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke

we indulgently listened to the senior citizens share memories of long-ago frolics

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prank
• adventure
• trick
• escapade
• experience
• caper
• joking
• antic
• practical joke
• time
• roguery
• waggery
• capriccio
• knavery
• gag
• rag
• game
• shine(s)
• dido
• kidding
• shavie
• play
• lark
• jest
• skylarking
• monkeyshine(s)
• horseplay
• performance
• roughhousing
• tomfoolery
• feat
• stunt
• teasing
• rowdyism
• deed
• high jinks
• whimsy
• mission
• maneuver
• hoax
• gambit
• whim
• subterfuge
• shenanigan(s)
• deception
• trickery
• ruse
• vagary
• fooling
• caprice
• wile
• ploy
• hanky-panky
• deceit
• delusion
• stratagem
• conceit
• fraud
• fancy
• sham
• hoodwinking

2

as in spree

a time or instance of carefree fun

took the long weekend as a three-day frolic and spent it at the beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spree
• romp
• gambol
• revel
• lark
• fling
• rollick
• idyll
• frisk
• festivity
• ploy
• binge
• escapade
• carouse
• caper
• prank
• merrymaking
• souse
• amusement
• antic
• bender
• merriment
• bum
• enjoyment
• toot
• entertainment
• splore
• indulgence
• pleasure
• shenanigan(s)
• diversion
• field day
• bust
• recreation
• monkeyshine(s)
• brannigan
• self-indulgence

3

as in relaxation

activity engaged in to amuse oneself

firmly believes that childhood should be a time of carefree frolic

Synonyms & Similar Words

• relaxation
• fun
• recreation
• amusement
• entertainment
• play
• enjoyment
• frolicking
• rollicking
• dalliance
• sport
• pleasure
• playfulness
• romping
• fun and games
• delight
• diversion
• hobby
• pastime
• gamboling
• mischief
• revel
• lark
• merrymaking
• devilment
• kick
• merriment
• hobbyhorse
• revelry
• jinks
• wantonness
• pleasance
• hilarity
• rascality
• horseplay
• fling
• tomfoolery
• spree
• mischievousness
• rollick
• buffoonery
• hob
• friskiness
• devilry
• sportiveness
• knavery
• binge
• high jinks
• roguishness
• hanky-panky
• impishness
• whoopee
• waggery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• work
• labor
• drudgery
• duty
• responsibility
• obligation

frolic

2 of 3

adjective

ˈfrä-lik 

as in joyful

joyously unrestrained

the frolic atmosphere that envelops New Orleans during Mardi Gras

Synonyms & Similar Words

• joyful
• exuberant
• lively
• frolicsome
• bubbly
• effervescent
• buoyant
• vivacious
• bouncy
• gay
• ecstatic
• giddy
• gamesome
• lyric
• high-spirited
• crank
• uninhibited
• carefree
• outgoing
• boisterous
• lighthearted
• raucous
• bold
• rowdy
• rollicking
• silly
• sprightly
• extroverted
• insouciant
• rapturous
• euphoric
• impudent
• saucy
• happy-go-lucky
• brazen
• insolent
• overexuberant
• impertinent
• audacious
• brash
• light-headed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sullen
• restrained
• subdued
• inhibited
• repressed
• constrained
• low-spirited
• phlegmatic
• stolid
• impassive
• stoic
• depressed
• morose
• surly
• glum
• dour

frolic

3 of 3

verb

1

as in to cavort

to play and run about happily

scores of swimmers were frolicking in the ocean surf along the beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cavort
• dance
• romp
• hop
• gambol
• leap
• skip
• rollick
• lark
• caper
• tumble
• sport
• revel
• frisk
• cut capers
• disport
• prance
• carouse
• bound
• spring
• lope
• trip
• roister
• kick up one's heels
• curvet
• cut up
• horse around
• fool around
• carry on
• clown
• roughhouse
• joyride
• kite
• skylark

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stew
• sulk
• pout
• mope

2

as in to play

to engage in activity for amusement

he would rather frolic than do yard work any day of the week

Synonyms & Similar Words

• play
• entertain
• recreate
• toy
• sport
• relax
• rollick
• disport
• cavort
• amuse
• romp
• joke
• delight
• gambol
• rest
• please
• dabble
• skylark
• dally
• frisk
• trifle
• hang
• tease
• idle
• divert
• dawdle
• bum (around)
• fiddle (around)
• lounge (around or about)
• jest
• putter (around)
• loaf
• slack (off)
• hang about
• screw around
• goldbrick
• mess around

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• work
• toil
• slave
• struggle
• strive
• labor
• sweat
• plug (away)
• strain
• plod
• drudge

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of frolic

Noun

But images of those youthful frolics amid chirping children quickly slips behind me, muted by my puffing, labored breaths and the blanket of snow. —Thomas Cangelosi, Hartford Courant, 4 Jan. 2026

The festive frolic at The Colony Animal Care Services looked fit for a four-legged king. —Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025

Adjective

Go ahead, frolic outdoors, but be alert to the seasonal hazards! —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 26 June 2025

Pods of porpoises frolic, and a playful minke whale shimmers in the afternoon sun. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2024

Verb

Through scenes of gossip, frolicking and even a foot chase as cops try to shut the revelry down, Basholli introduces her setting (Prishtina, Kosovo in the late ‘90s) as though the audience were an eager participant in every conversation, and privy to the girls’ secrets. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 May 2026

Past the frolicking waters of the outdoor fountain that anchors Lincoln Center, beyond the twin Chagall murals hanging 30-feet tall in the Metropolitan Opera House lobby, and behind the stage of one of the nation’s most glittering cultural centers sits a warren of rooms in a concrete labyrinth. —Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026

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