1
as in horsed around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in played
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooled around
Verb
-
And Georgia appears to have played its hand right.—
Jillian Magtoto,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025 -
All of those games were played in Little Rock.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Born Drew Desbordes, Druski, 30, is a long way from the kid who spent his time at the dinner table cutting up.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Nobody wants to get their hands cut up by a downward moving blade.—
Vilius Kavaliauskas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
On a number of occasions against Southeast Missouri State, Raynor showed off his escape ability by breaking the pocket to extend plays.—
Michael Harley,
Arkansas Online,
4 Sep. 2025
-
For the first time, Gary teen Ellis Dumas IV placed in a national competition and showed off his writing.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Peralta leaders had kicked around the idea for years but avoided discussing it in concrete terms, with bureaucratic tangles often getting in the way.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
23 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Fooled around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooled%20around. Accessed 6 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share