monkeyshine

noun

ˈməŋ-kē-ˌshīn How to pronounce monkeyshine (audio)
Definition of monkeyshinenext
1
as in buffoonery
usually monkeyshines plural wildly playful or mischievous behavior hockey players who are known for their monkeyshines on and off the ice

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in trick
usually monkeyshines plural a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke on the alert for paleontological monkeyshines ever since the unmasking of Piltdown man

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeyshine
  1. buffoonery
  2. trick
  3. horseplay
  4. caper
  5. monkey business
  6. escapade
  7. clownery
  8. practical joke
Noun
  • Still, there's a remarkable level of buffoonery in his analysis.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of buffoonery
Noun
  • The Cinderella dress that Kaitlyn Argyriou’s mother had sewn for her as a child and which Argyriou’s daughter, Avery, 4, had planned to wear trick-or-treating in Colorado Springs on Halloween.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The tips and tricks for maintaining hosiery that used to be passed down by family and friends are in danger of being lost to time and ever-changing fashion trends.
    — Jolie Kerr, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of trick
Noun
  • The device’s user manual also warns it should not be used in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture or horseplay.
    — Ryan J. Foley, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The device's user manual also warns it should not be used in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture or horseplay.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of horseplay
Noun
  • Along for extra pepperoni in this comedy crime caper are David Harbour, Patricia Arquette, Michael Chernus, Garret Dillahunt, Ryan Eggold, Gregory Alan Williams, Tom McCarthy, Owen Teague, Harlow Jane and Danielle Macdonald.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026
  • This seminal caper re-teams Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) costars Robert Redford and Paul Newman in a story of two con men taking revenge on the brutal crime boss (Robert Shaw) who murdered their friend.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of caper
Noun
  • But this was no monkey business April Fool’s joke.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
  • Barnett was the second Mississippi resident to take the monkey business into their own hands.
    — Bracey Harris, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2025
Definition of monkey business
Noun
  • Now roughly two weeks later, Netflix has made a whole documentary about the escapade.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The escapade prompted a high-speed chase by two fighter jets and ended in an emergency landing in a sunflower field, according to local authorities.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of escapade
Noun
  • Allow Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to clarify his remarks about Aquaman being the work of clowns with… some clownery.
    — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Chronicle Books In the world of clownery, tradition has long dictated that a clown must never steal another clown’s look.
    — Constance Grady, Vox, 20 Aug. 2018
Definition of clownery
Noun
  • To make their mission abroad bearable, the doctors, nurses, administrators and soldiers of the Korean War turned to humor, especially practical jokes.
    — Rachel Flynn, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
  • In order to make their kissing scenes even more awkward, the late Larry Hagman would play practical jokes on his Dallas costar Linda Gray.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of practical joke
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

monkeys (around)
monkeyshine
monkeyshines
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Monkeyshine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeyshine. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quorum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All