MONKEYING Synonyms: 176 Similar and Opposite Words

monkeying 1 of 3

noun

as in funning

wildly playful or mischievous behavior all that monkeying was sure to end in someone or something getting hurt

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monkeying

2 of 3

adjective

as in prankish

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Dissimilar Words

monkeying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of monkey

as in aping

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeying

Noun

On paper, the script didn’t seem that funny, and the looseness of it all — the clowning, the lack of a traditional plot structure — seemed kind of slapdash.

— Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
The clowning might be a little too effortful.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026

Definition of clowning

Adjective

The catastrophies that our heroine averts are awfully small potatoes — a bulldozer running amok, an amusement park ride speeding out of control, some prankish teenagers scheming to turn the girl’s shower into a steambath.

— Arthur Knight, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2026
Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes prepare the way for Ionesco’s prankish jokes.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026

Definition of prankish

Verb

Critics and fanboy media thrashed Supergirl not just for its Guardians of the Galaxy touchstones, but also for aping Mad Max.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 29 June 2026
For Shorts, the label will appear as a small overlay at the bottom of the video itself, although that will add to the already cluttered look of the TikTok-aping Shorts.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

Definition of aping

Noun

Russell was mentioned in that speech, but in a joking way, playing off of how frequent Oscars director Glenn Weiss, who won for his role helming the 2018 Academy Awards telecast, had used his speech to propose to his then-girlfriend.

— Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
Arch Manning's joking comments at a news conference about a fake video of coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe erupted in controversy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of joking

Adjective

White and Madison are sort of like Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, building a mountain of evidence against the company, while Strong is playing an ornery witness a la Jack Nicholson.

— Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 7 Oct. 2026
But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of ornery

Verb

Rather than simply copying that, but with a slab of batteries under the cabin, the Fiat Multiplay explores the idea of a vehicle that’s adaptable, transforming from a three-row people carrier to a pickup.

— Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 13 Oct. 2026
The company said a self-copying AI built on small models would spread slowly, with the number of infected devices doubling every few days, but would be hard to stamp out once loose.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of copying

Noun

After the film’s theatrical release on June 26, the decades-long saga of pranks and tomfoolery is finally coming to an end.

— Isabelle Farina, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
New assistant coach Alice Chilton is a blatant remodeling of Roy Kent — a brusque ex-soccer player who’s reluctant to engage with Ted’s tomfoolery or personal prodding — but Tanya Reynolds’ performance is equal turns wounded and witty.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of tomfoolery

Adjective

No movie has ever been made worse by Mads Mikkelsen, who plays our Big Bad, while Waller-Bridge has great comedic rapport with Ford as his charmingly roguish sidekick.

— Frank DeRuggiero, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
The movie follows the life of feisty belle Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), from growing up on a plantation to her love affairs, including with roguish Rhett Butler (Clark Gable).

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026

Definition of roguish

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“Monkeying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeying. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of monkeying

noun

adjective

verb

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