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 masquerading
Related Words
2
as in cutting up
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clowning
Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
As in past years, the festival will feature independent artists and companies presenting new and experimental theater, dance, clowning, music and more.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Yes, this is the modern clowning that all the thinkpieces are thinking about.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2026
With an impressive ability to do accents and a background in clowning, Storrie is made for this.
—Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
The balance is also what clowning is.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
There’s no grandstanding, no frantic clowning.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
The clowning isn’t over just yet, though.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
Comedy and clowning are ways Zaalan has connected with their homeland after the Syrian revolution.
—Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
As in past years, the festival will feature independent artists and companies presenting new and experimental theater, dance, clowning, music and more.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Yes, this is the modern clowning that all the thinkpieces are thinking about.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2026
With an impressive ability to do accents and a background in clowning, Storrie is made for this.
—Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
The balance is also what clowning is.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
There’s no grandstanding, no frantic clowning.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
The clowning isn’t over just yet, though.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowning
Noun
-
There was none of the usual laughing and joking.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Lindsay says that Jesse was serious about asking, but that the make-out would be a joking make-out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
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
-
The gulls weren’t directly imitating the act of eating.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The gulls weren’t imitating human eating directly but were using the human’s choice as a cue to guide their own foraging decisions.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Bevel was horsing around with the Reverend James Orange and Andy Young in the courtyard under King's balcony, according to Orange.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
-
In April 2020, Iglesias shared a video of him horsing around with Lucy and Nicholas as the pair attempted to climb on his back for a ride.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Receivers have cratered seasons with me-over-we buffoonery.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Tassoni is best known for his 2023 Black List script Lure, which follows a park ranger lured into the woods by a dangerous, unearthly predator mimicking her dead daughter.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Martha Stewart, who introduced her followers to the tradition in 2005, resurrected the dessert a few days ago on Instagram with a photo of a cake expertly decorated with chocolate curls mimicking a lamb’s wooly coat.—
Lisa Gutierrez
April 3,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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
Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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