buffoonery

play

noun buf·foon·ery \ -ˈfü-nə-rē , -ˈfün-rē \

Definition of buffoonery

plural buffooneries

:foolish or playful behavior or practice

See buffoonery defined for kids

Examples of buffoonery in a Sentence

their madcap buffoonery turned the duo into the nation's hottest comedy act

Recent Examples of buffoonery from the Web

Jerry Lewis, who died Aug. 20 at 91, was a comic actor whose rubber-limbed pratfalls, squeaky voice and pipsqueak buffoonery made him one of the most uncontainable screen clowns of all time.

— adam bernstein, Alaska Dispatch News, "Jerry Lewis, comedy king and master of slapstick, dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Jerry Lewis, who died Aug. 20 at 91, was a comic actor whose rubber-limbed pratfalls, squeaky voice and pipsqueak buffoonery made him one of the most uncontainable screen clowns of all time.

— adam bernstein, Washington Post, "Jerry Lewis, comedy king and master of slapstick, dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Donald Trump’s buffoonery is self-defeating, but there is shrewdness beneath it.

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "On Charlottesville, Trump, and Anti-Americanism," 19 Aug. 2017
So Systrom gathered a team to sort through massive piles of bilge, buffoonery, and low-grade extortion on the platform.

— WIRED, "Instagram’s Kevin Systrom Wants to Clean Up the Internet," 14 Aug. 2017
Günther Groissböck was a booming Pogner, and Johannes Martin Kränzle a Beckmesser balanced between sensitivity and buffoonery.

— zachary woolfe, New York Times, "Review: A New ‘Meistersinger’ in Bayreuth Stars Wagner," 1 Aug. 2017
For nothing but your gift for buffoonery, you will be missed, Ol' Spicey.

— chelsea peng, Marie Claire, "Petty Party: The Most Guiltily Satisfying Celebrity Things That Happened This Week," 28 July 2017
But their warnings didn't prepare us for the parade of buffoonery and ineptitude that has characterized his administration from Day One.

— chicagotribune.com, "The global consequences of Trump's incompetence," 18 July 2017
Beneath all the buffoonery, the novel moonlights as a chronicle of women fed up with the imperious but weak and self-absorbed men all around them.

— boris fishman, New York Times, "Just Another Nutty June Weekend in the Rockaways," 6 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buffoonery.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of buffoonery

1621

buffoonery Synonyms

Synonyms

horseplay, clownery, clowning, foolery, high jinks (also hijinks), horsing around, monkey business, monkeying, monkeyshine (s), roughhouse, roughhousing, shenanigan (s), skylarking, slapstick, tomfoolery

Learn More about buffoonery

See words that rhyme with buffoonery Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for buffoonery Spanish Central: Translation of buffoonery Nglish: Translation of buffoonery for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up buffoonery? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

buffoonery

Definition of buffoonery

Examples of buffoonery in a Sentence

Recent Examples of buffoonery from the Web

First Known Use of buffoonery

buffoonery Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Learn More about buffoonery

Seen and Heard

WORD OF THE DAY

anathematize

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

Words at Play

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Let's Talk 'Tea'

8 Words and Phrases from Boxing and Wrestling

The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

Ask the Editors

Words of the Year: 1066

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Irregardless

Weird Plurals

Word Games

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

True or False?

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066

buffoonery

Definition of buffoonery

Explore Merriam-Webster

Examples of buffoonery in a Sentence

Recent Examples of buffoonery from the Web

First Known Use of buffoonery

buffoonery Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Learn More about buffoonery

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066