as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
our coworker's clowning was distracting, but fun to watch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in masquerading
Related Words
2
as in cutting up
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clowning
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
As with older clowning traditions, the early American circus clowns were adults performing taboo acts to shock and delight other adults.
—Time, 30 Oct. 2025
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
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
Art, meanwhile, occupies a lonely table in the pizzeria and tries to put on his best clowning act for the two women.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
As with older clowning traditions, the early American circus clowns were adults performing taboo acts to shock and delight other adults.
—Time, 30 Oct. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowning
Noun
-
Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
28 Dec. 2025
-
Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.—
Greg Cote
December 20,
Miami Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
-
Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
An investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said hackers accessed the system by imitating a legitimate user account.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Life isn’t quite imitating art for Kim Kardashian.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Death by Lightning, adapted by Mike Makowsky from Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book and directed by Matt Ross, hums with the strength of these performances, particularly Shannon’s quiet composure and Macfadyen mining new depths of buffoonery.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Scholz-Carlson’s staging pushes against the deep misogyny of Da Ponte’s libretto by accentuating the buffoonery of the two male romantic leads.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Jeremy Allen White brilliantly channels The Boss without mimicking him.—
Henry Selick,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Prescribed burns help clean up forest debris and stimulate new growth, mimicking natural fire patterns in the high country.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
-
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
Verb
-
The Artist mourned the silent era by miming through the Oscars, while La La Land and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood turned failure into choreography.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
-
Think back to that preseason finale, when Dart went viral for miming the hurry-up motion to get him out of the medical tent quickly.—
Charlotte Carroll,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share