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 miming
Related Words
2
as in cutting up
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowning
Noun
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Stewart’s switch from his usual snark to imitate Colbert’s buffoonery proved how spiteful and irreligious political humor has become since the left’s worship of Barack Obama and subsequent persecution of President Trump.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 July 2025 -
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
Verb
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The sketch sees Sarah Sherman imitating Wood’s Chelsea, cartoonishly wide-eyed, donned in large false teeth and speaking in a thick accent.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
13 Apr. 2025
-
The company uses data and AI learning to simulate attacks that go beyond just imitating an individual’s voice – like most modern sophisticated phishing attacks, the technology uses details about someone’s family, background, personality and more.—
Laya Neelakandan,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
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That indicates either a profound lack of creativity or intense postproduction tomfoolery.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
-
Your first thought would be that certainly the LLM won’t fall for this kind of tomfoolery.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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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Joining Neeson and Hauser in this slapstick revival is a crack ensemble that includes Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, and even a WWE superstar.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
2 Aug. 2025
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In Schaffer’s delightful version, the flurry of double entendres, slapstick humor and surprise celebrity cameos remains; the cringey quips about race and disability are a thing of the past.—
Eric Andersson,
People.com,
30 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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