as in puerility
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Recent Examples of goofiness
The wildly amateurish performances turn the story’s tragic high points into moments of unintentional goofiness.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
While social media was, and continues to be, a hotbed of culture-war goofiness, people yelling about lentils in the comments section of Jezebel hardly accounts for the rise of RFK Jr.
—Annie Levin, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Johnson delights in playing the role of lovable buffoon in the locker room, but his goofiness has purpose.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
And follow his skiing adventrues and hilarious goofiness on Instagram at Nick Goepper.
—Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2025
Yet the boyish enthusiasm and goofiness that chess fans had come to know from his commentary and YouTube videos was no longer evident.
—Jordan Himelfarb, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
There’s also a wee bit of goofiness.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 4 Dec. 2025
Underpinning all his goofiness was an utterly sincere and infectious confidence and belief in A Complete Unknown, and a genuine desire to share it with as many people as possible.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
The American Kennel Club (AKC) highlights their muscular physique and their confidence among the canine world, but that’s not without a certain level of silliness and goofiness too.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026
While social media was, and continues to be, a hotbed of culture-war goofiness, people yelling about lentils in the comments section of Jezebel hardly accounts for the rise of RFK Jr.
—Annie Levin, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Johnson delights in playing the role of lovable buffoon in the locker room, but his goofiness has purpose.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
And follow his skiing adventrues and hilarious goofiness on Instagram at Nick Goepper.
—Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2025
Yet the boyish enthusiasm and goofiness that chess fans had come to know from his commentary and YouTube videos was no longer evident.
—Jordan Himelfarb, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
There’s also a wee bit of goofiness.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 4 Dec. 2025
Underpinning all his goofiness was an utterly sincere and infectious confidence and belief in A Complete Unknown, and a genuine desire to share it with as many people as possible.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
The American Kennel Club (AKC) highlights their muscular physique and their confidence among the canine world, but that’s not without a certain level of silliness and goofiness too.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goofiness
Noun
-
Cove, on West Houston Street, does not mark an especially obvious step into maturity or anything narratively pat like that, because McGarry’s cooking and his businesses have never really had so much as a hint of childishness to begin with.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The gesture’s lack of dignity, its childishness, its pettiness, are completely in character.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Understanding the hilarity and nonsense of this comment can help understand why there is so much division in our country today.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Their guests will come in and … hilarity ensues, as to be expected, because the girls have a number of obstacles along the way.—
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The cast has learned to modulate the mirth as needed.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
-
From arena-filling funnymen to big-name package tours, there will be plenty of mirth and mayhem in local venues.—
Bob Mehr,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His cheerfulness and laughter often brought strength and refreshment to me in difficult times.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Raines replied, her usual cheerfulness stepping up a notch.—
Rebecca Boone,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In a film that nimbly walks the tightrope between lightheartedness and weightlessness, Jerry and Mabel’s antagonistic relationship ends up proving the unexpected core of the story.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Hundreds of fans commented on social media, either expressing concern or responding with lightheartedness.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
4 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Facts about elephant seals—a bull’s responsibility to impregnate his harem of females, birthing and nursing—though presented scientifically, put the children in a state of wild glee that a thousand-year-old redwood tree or a century-old lighthouse could not induce.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
-
His six year old cousin opened the door and broke out in pure glee, rushing back to call for his mother.—
Yousra Elbagir,
Time,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The next day, standing below the balcony of the Lorraine Motel where the team was staying in Memphis, King yelled down at Jackson in joviality, as if to mitigate the outburst, inviting him to dinner.—
Johanna Neuman,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
-
There was never any danger of an exit as Alcaraz showed a focus that rose above any joviality about a second-hand haircut.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There was food, drink and merriment of all stripes.—
Brian Barth,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The whole family will find merriment in hopping aboard the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, a four-hour, 26-mile, round-trip journey that begins and ends at the historic depot in Blue Ridge.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goofiness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goofiness. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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