MONKEYING AROUND Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

monkeying (around)

verb

present participle of monkey (around)

as in clowning (around)

to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior stop monkeying around in the house or you'll break something

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in fiddling (around)

to spend time in aimless activity would rather just monkey around instead of doing work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeying (around)

Verb

One reason being that the videographer kept cutting up [a slab of] meat for the castle owner.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2026
Cut the half into thin wedges by making ½-inch slices lengthwise through the onion, cutting up to, but not through, the root end.

— Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of cutting up

Verb

The Miami Hurricanes are back on the road and playing under the lights in a key Atlantic Coast Conference game.

— Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026
And his relatives in turn gave notes to the actors playing their younger selves and were encouraged to interrogate Ba as his coming-of-age story was dramatized.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 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

Quarterbacks have been the story at midseason, with teams passing a lot more and quarterbacks showing off their ability to run and pass.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Pasha finds a nice balance of showing off Amber’s athleticism and her flexibility.

— Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of showing off

Verb

There will be no more messing around with draggy eye pencils or the emperor’s new eye shadows.

— Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Both of France’s sons seem to appreciate imaginative play over messing around with action figures, something that makes perfect sense given France’s own love for the arts.

— Marah Eakin, Vulture, 8 Sep. 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

monkeying

monkeying (around)

monkeying (with)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Monkeying (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeying%20%28around%29. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of monkeying (around)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes