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!"
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Recent Examples of horseplay
Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.
—
Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 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
On my gondola, however, horseplay is not only encouraged, it is required.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 24 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 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
On my gondola, however, horseplay is not only encouraged, it is required.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 24 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for horseplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horseplay
Noun
-
When Peanut pulled his second escape act, his owners knew where to look and handled Peanut's disappearance in a joking manner.—
Michael Nied,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Multiple outlets that examined the reporting identified the claim as unverified and labeled the story a hoax; Colbert had previously made a joking on-air reference to streaming platforms but had not announced any deal with Netflix.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Finally, after plenty of clowning, Taylor Swift has revealed that her 12th album is on the way, titled The Life of a Showgirl.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This is why some people work nine hours a day, go to the gym, and roughhouse with their kids in the evening, while others already feel tired just thinking about this daily schedule.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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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
Noun
-
Be careful and look out for more of your mom's tomfoolery.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
25 Aug. 2025
-
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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He’s been tinkering with this messaging on and off since damn near the start of the century, when his criticism of the genre shifted from the power-holding executives (both white and Black) of the music industry who were profiting off buffoonery, a la Bamboozled, to rap music itself.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
15 Aug. 2025
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Stewart’s switch from his usual snark to imitate Colbert’s buffoonery proved how spiteful and irreligious political humor has become since the left’s worship of Barack Obama and subsequent persecution of President Trump.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 July 2025
Noun
-
As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
-
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
Noun
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Her rats' playfulness motivated her and eased feeling of loneliness, while her cats' soothing weight on her chest calmed her anxiety.—
Quinn Clark,
jsonline.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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The film is alive with stylistic playfulness.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The humor, much like its source material, tries to be as delightfully zany as possible, packed with slapstick gags for kids and sly meta jokes for parents.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Columbus thought the critical key in John’s contribution was somehow blending the film’s contrasting tones of slapstick, Three Stooges–esque comedy with its warm, Christmassy heart.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horseplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horseplay. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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