as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
our coworker's clowning was distracting, but fun to watch
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in miming
Related Words
2
as in cutting up
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowning
Noun
-
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
Verb
-
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
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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
-
The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
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Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
-
Would that all life could be filled with such tomfoolery.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
Noun
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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
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Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
True to the Housefull world, Housefull 5 is a no-brainer, full of slapstick comedy, vulgar and suggestive dialogues and mostly unfunny jokes.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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The Three Stooges, who made the seltzer bottle a signature of their madcap slapstick brand of comedy, grew up in a Jewish household.—
Liza Weisstuch,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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