GOOFING (AROUND) Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

goofing (around)

verb

present participle of goof (around)

as in fiddling (around)

to spend time in aimless activity we've been goofing around long enough; it's time to get some real work done

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for goofing (around)

Verb

But camp is about more than just a wide receiver playing well.

— Chad Graff, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Carys made her professional stage debut in June, playing Nina in Anton Chekhov’s tragicomedy The Seagull in Brooklyn.

— Adam England, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of playing

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

Definition of fooling around

Verb

The Chicago Cubs weren’t messing around at the trade deadline.

— Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026
His first two features were loose, low-budget films starring himself and made by messing around with friends; they were built on spontaneity and the belief that a movie reveals itself in the edit.

— Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 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

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

goofiness

goofing (around)

goofing (off)

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“Goofing (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goofing%20%28around%29. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of goofing (around)

verb

Example Sentences

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