1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

gallivants

verb

variants also galavants
present tense third-person singular of gallivant
as in wanders
to move about from place to place aimlessly gallivanted about the country before returning to school in the fall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gallivants
  1. wanders
  2. roams
  3. strolls
  4. drifts
Verb
  • In the book’s 16 central chapters, Roden wanders from central categories such as yogurt, egg dishes, breads and pickles, showing how the countries of this region prepare stunning variations of common foodstuffs.
    — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 2 Sep. 2026
  • To be fair, some of the mess wanders into the house on its own.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of wanders
Verb
  • Ripper Row — Jack the Ripper roams the streets in search of his next victim.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In addition to two shop cats named Franklin and Nigel, a rotating cast of adoptable rescue cats roams the store.
    — Yvonne Villaseñor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of roams
Verb
  • Erika Girardi strolls in, followed by Teddi Mellencamp and her new Rachel Maddow power-lesbian haircut.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Reacher is a behemoth who strolls into towns in the South and the American heartland.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of strolls
Verb
  • Like the Argentinian, Mora drifts freely between the lines, demanding the ball from team-mates before driving purposefully at goal.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The roadmap looks steady while the ground truth drifts underneath it.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of drifts
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.

Browse Nearby Words

gallivanting
gallivants
gallop
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gallivants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gallivants. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of facsimile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All