as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
when he saw us spraying each other with the hose instead of washing the car, Dad yelled, "Cut out the horseplay!"
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horseplay
On my gondola, however, horseplay is not only encouraged, it is required.
—
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 24 Sep. 2024
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2025
Key speeches are faithfully delivered to an audience of two, not thousands; a scene of soldiers destructively revelling on a bridge is given a different spirit by ironic, out-of-time horseplay.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Feb. 2025
And yes, there were cases on public roads where the horseplay turned dangerous.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 24 Sep. 2024
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2025
Key speeches are faithfully delivered to an audience of two, not thousands; a scene of soldiers destructively revelling on a bridge is given a different spirit by ironic, out-of-time horseplay.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Feb. 2025
And yes, there were cases on public roads where the horseplay turned dangerous.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horseplay
Noun
-
This makes the roughhouse ballet a satisfying bridge to the final scene in Roberta’s room, where their vulnerabilities are revealed.—
Peter Marks,
Washington Post,
14 Nov. 2023
-
Weighing between eight and 10 pounds, these pooches are not ideal for young kids who tend to roughhouse.—
Country Living,
Country Living,
1 May 2023
Noun
-
Would that all life could be filled with such tomfoolery.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
-
Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
3 May 2025
Noun
-
Certainly, an irreverent portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte is warranted, but at two and a half hours of alternating brutality and buffoonery, this movie really tries one’s patience.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
9 Mar. 2024
-
His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
-
The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
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Carmen and Benny both gain a level of cachet around campus for having (ostensibly) slept together, but the encounter itself is a slapstick disaster.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
15 May 2025
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Jam-packed with his absurd self-aware humor, the finale deviates from the show’s usual slapstick raunch with a rare tender moment between Jesse and his equally crude siblings, Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
4 May 2025
Noun
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The brand’s monkey business button-up collared shirt was worn by Blackpink’s Lisa in one of the opening scenes of the premiere episode.—
Julia Teti,
WWD,
19 Feb. 2025
-
No side bets with them or other monkey business!—
Brady Dale,
Axios,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horseplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horseplay. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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