shenanigan
noun
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Definition of shenanigan
1 : a devious trick used especially for an underhand purpose
2a : tricky or questionable practices or conduct —usually used in plural
b : high-spirited or mischievous activity —usually used in plural
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Synonyms for shenanigan
Synonyms
buffoonery, clownery, clowning, foolery, high jinks (also hijinks), horseplay, horsing around, monkey business, monkeying, monkeyshine(s), roughhouse, roughhousing, skylarking, tomfoolery
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Examples of shenanigan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One big takeaway: Despite his Twitter shenanigans, CEO Elon Musk is still definitely in charge. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "This Week in the Future of Cars: It's Business Time," 10 June 2018 Police were alerted to their shenanigans at about 12:37 a.m. when a neighbor in the 1000 block of 17th Avenue reported seeing the five get out of a car on River Knoll Court, a dead end, just north of the high school athletic fields. — Maureen Mertens, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Twenty minutes after teens deny toilet paper intentions to police, the same cop finds them crawling through brush to commit offense," 22 May 2018 And thank you, Juan, for putting up with all my shenanigans. — Fox News, "Senate fight awaits Trump's Supreme Court pick," 10 July 2018 Barkley’s teammates also were willing to put up with his shenanigans. — Scott Bordow, azcentral, "Phoenix Suns – and fans – reach silver anniversary of love affair with 1993 Western Conference champions," 16 June 2018 The head of the UAW reasserted this week that the union’s leaders did not know about the conduct that spawned a federal probe into payoffs and other shenanigans involving training center money until the government informed the union. — Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, "Professor: Feds suggest UAW/Fiat Chrysler scandal was wider conspiracy," 13 June 2018 Democrats argued in court that could lead to shenanigans. — Jim Morrill And Anne Blythe, charlotteobserver, "How this GOP candidate could help Democrats keep control of the NC Supreme Court," 4 July 2018 Many New Yorkers are all too familiar with St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. — Laurel Graeber, New York Times, "7 Things to Do With Your Kids in NYC This Weekend," 15 Mar. 2018 Speaking of Iowa, there’s some shenanigans going on with Governor Kim Reynolds and that state’s Medicaid program. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "Desperation Is Settling in for Pennsylvania Republicans," 22 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shenanigan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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