as in hijinks
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
their madcap buffoonery turned the duo into the nation's hottest comedy act
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Recent Examples of buffoonery
The other person who spoke in South Carolina, Tim Walz, is a special mixture of extreme buffoonery and a mean spirit, which is a toxic brew.
—
Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 1 June 2025
Certainly hope none of you will be complicit in this buffoonery.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 23 May 2025
The quarterback with a rocket arm had moments of brilliance and moments of buffoonery.
—Jim Reineking, USA Today, 6 May 2025
Certainly, an irreverent portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte is warranted, but at two and a half hours of alternating brutality and buffoonery, this movie really tries one’s patience.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for buffoonery
Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 1 June 2025
Certainly hope none of you will be complicit in this buffoonery.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 23 May 2025
The quarterback with a rocket arm had moments of brilliance and moments of buffoonery.
—Jim Reineking, USA Today, 6 May 2025
Certainly, an irreverent portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte is warranted, but at two and a half hours of alternating brutality and buffoonery, this movie really tries one’s patience.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for buffoonery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buffoonery
Noun
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Finally, after plenty of clowning, Taylor Swift has revealed that her 12th album is on the way, titled The Life of a Showgirl.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
13 Aug. 2025
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This is a work in which the slapstick clowning and the tricky verbal non sequiturs should be merely the surface for roiling undercurrents of anguish, futility, despair and fear.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Noun
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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
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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
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As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
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Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
Noun
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Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.—
Tony Cook,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025
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The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2022
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Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful.—
Stanislav Budnitsky,
The Conversation,
19 Apr. 2022
Noun
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The film — part chilling revenge thriller and part absurd slapstick — is riveting.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
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In arguably Buster Keaton’s most experimental film, the silent-era slapstick comedian plays a movie projectionist who dreams of becoming a detective.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As for footwear, Kurt Geiger’s penchant for playfulness continues.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
31 Oct. 2025
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That’s a very artistic sense of playfulness.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Buffoonery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buffoonery. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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