FOOLING AROUND Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

fooling around

verb

present participle of fool around

as in cutting up

to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in fiddling (around)

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

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 fooling around 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, 7 Feb. 2026 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, 8 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling around

Verb

Cut the half into thin wedges by making ½-inch slices lengthwise through the onion, cutting up to, but not through, the root end.

— Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026
What parents can do on hectic mornings Nemours recommends doing as much as possible the night before, from setting out dishes to cutting up fruit.

— Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of cutting up

Verb

Rather than playing as two traditional wingers, in this moment, both players were on the left flank.

— Art de Roché, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Rumors have circulated that Stan may be playing Harvey Dent, the district attorney who eventually becomes the villainous Two-Face and was previously portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, and Billy Dee Williams.

— Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of playing

Verb

Both of France’s sons seem to appreciate imaginative play over messing around with action figures, something that makes perfect sense given France’s own love for the arts.

— Marah Eakin, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
Take note at the point in a song when the real dancers stop messing around.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of messing around

Verb

President James Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, died by hanging about five months after he was convicted of murder.

— USA Today, USA Today, 17 June 2026
In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.

— Elliott Harrell, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025

Definition of hanging about

Verb

The fantasy of a cultural architecture that’s as flexible as culture itself has been kicking around for more than 100 years, and there’s something obscurely disappointing about seeing a technocratic version get put into practice.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026
Within the venue gates but outside the stands, groups of friends were playing cornhole and having picnic dinners from food trucks parked onsite; older attendees were chatting and kids were kicking around mini soccer balls.

— Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026

Definition of kicking around

Browse Nearby Words

fooling

fooling around

fooling (with)

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Style

“Fooling around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling%20around. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fooling around

verb

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