1
as in mischief
usually shenanigans plural
playful, reckless behavior that is not intended to cause serious harm
students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in joking
usually shenanigans plural
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
the street-corner huckster of pirated DVDs had all sorts of shenanigans to keep the cops off of his tail
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shenanigan
Kevin sneaks his way into a room at the Plaza Hotel and gets up to his usual shenanigans in the building, which was owned in real life by Donald at the time, with Ivana serving as the property's president.
—
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Oct. 2025
Still, the sleek production design, symphonic score and performances from a killer ensemble act as a life preserver, making the shenanigans at sea a little less choppy.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
No Way Home on Starz, thanks to the licensing shenanigans between Sony and Marvel.
—Chris McMullen, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Boatmance shenanigans will have to wait, though; right now, drama is concentrated exclusively on the deck team.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shenanigan
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Oct. 2025
Still, the sleek production design, symphonic score and performances from a killer ensemble act as a life preserver, making the shenanigans at sea a little less choppy.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
No Way Home on Starz, thanks to the licensing shenanigans between Sony and Marvel.
—Chris McMullen, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Boatmance shenanigans will have to wait, though; right now, drama is concentrated exclusively on the deck team.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shenanigan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigan
Noun
-
Let’s have a moratorium on mischief during whatever this period is.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
-
The moon is glimmering, the veil between worlds is thin and there’s an air of mischief lingering in the shadows.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Self was in a joking mood when asked about the squad’s stellar defensive play.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
29 Oct. 2025
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Jones eventually got into his joking bag, and Bleek took that opportunity to seriously set the record straight one last time.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Odysseus, the Ithacan warrior who is as celebrated for craftiness as Achilles is for brute strength, devises a clever ruse in which the Greeks place a giant wooden horse outside Troy’s walls and pretend to sail away.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This basement ruse allows the law to be ignored as well as the special zoning requirements for homeless shelters and transitional housing.—
Lou Murray,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That gap gives congregations wide latitude to hire and restore youth pastors, worship leaders and other associate ministers — including those with histories of misconduct.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
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Springfield officials, meanwhile, called for a review of the department's hiring practices after previous allegations of misconduct against Grayson were revealed.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There was nothing particularly frightening about their Viennese waltz, which was a nice change from all the creepy tomfoolery earlier in the night.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
28 Oct. 2025
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This Survivor 49 challenge tomfoolery actually began before the season even started filming.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In the below example, against Real Oviedo’s zonal scheme protecting the six-yard box, three players run away from goal and one to the near-post to attack Marcus Rashford’s outswinger, resulting in Araujo scoring.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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All of that has left the Heat seeking answers in the immediate aftermath of Rozier’s Thursday arrest stemming from his alleged involvement in a sports betting scheme.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The oldest trick in the book … foiled by those pesky Bravo cameras.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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The next evolution of creative culture isn’t faster turnaround or cooler AI tricks.—
Rochelle Ratkaj,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Since medieval times, the colorful fool—from court jesters to Shakespeare’s characters—has used playful wit to critique authority and buffoonery to whip up excitement.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Their relationship, tentative, intimate, and defiant, lingers long after the satirical skewering of male buffoonery has faded.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shenanigan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shenanigan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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