as in tricks
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
as a prank, several students managed to change all the classroom clocks to different times
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Recent Examples of pranks
Alumni hold debates and students from each school often pull pranks on the other.
—
Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025
The comedy horror film revolves around Brian (Tyler Perry) forbidding his daughter Tiffany (Diamond White) from attending a frat party, which sets off a string of Halloween pranks.
—Ariana Quihuiz, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Historically, Mischief Night is supposed to be the night of harmless pranks, but many police departments have developed plans to prevent the shenanigans.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
But Fleury’s jokes and pranks also kept light-hearted off the ice.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Many have built followings while making content in a specific area, such as magic, pranks, art, sports, gaming, comedy or reviews.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
As far as college pranks go, the one The Harvard Lampoon orchestrated was pricey.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2025
The Twits is not beautiful — and that’s kind of the point, since the story is about a gross, mean, and spiteful couple who pull all sorts of nasty pranks on each other and everyone else.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
What started as the follow-up to D’Angelo’s 1995 platinum debut, Brown Sugar (written and recorded entirely by D’Angelo in his mother’s house in Richmond, Virginia), became five years of study at Soul University, complete with classes, pranks, gossip and equal amounts of discipline and laziness.
—Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025
The comedy horror film revolves around Brian (Tyler Perry) forbidding his daughter Tiffany (Diamond White) from attending a frat party, which sets off a string of Halloween pranks.
—Ariana Quihuiz, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Historically, Mischief Night is supposed to be the night of harmless pranks, but many police departments have developed plans to prevent the shenanigans.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
But Fleury’s jokes and pranks also kept light-hearted off the ice.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Many have built followings while making content in a specific area, such as magic, pranks, art, sports, gaming, comedy or reviews.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
As far as college pranks go, the one The Harvard Lampoon orchestrated was pricey.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2025
The Twits is not beautiful — and that’s kind of the point, since the story is about a gross, mean, and spiteful couple who pull all sorts of nasty pranks on each other and everyone else.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025
What started as the follow-up to D’Angelo’s 1995 platinum debut, Brown Sugar (written and recorded entirely by D’Angelo in his mother’s house in Richmond, Virginia), became five years of study at Soul University, complete with classes, pranks, gossip and equal amounts of discipline and laziness.
—Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pranks
Noun
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Cherki is visibly excited by his spectators, eager to show off his tricks, until a coach comes into frame on the YouTube video and tells them their fun is over.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Cheo was a jokester and would play tricks on her, like pretending to be asleep, to lighten the mood.—
Kevin G. Hall,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Like most fiction, it’s made up of experiences, imagination, ideas, memories, emotions, speculation, knowledge and research.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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But most of my energy is spent getting our family through the day and fighting for all of my kids to have equal access to life’s experiences.—
Jaclyn Greenberg,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Idris Elba is returning for a new Luther feature from Netflix that continues the gritty adventures of the detective hero created by Neil Cross and first aired as a BBC series.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
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Their enthusiasm for muddy adventures and water play is almost unmatched, often leaving their owners laughing, and, in this case, reaching for the hose.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Thankfully, Poole managed to see the humor in her dog’s antics.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
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The couple reconciled on season 1, and the forthcoming season promises more of their hilarious antics.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Marlowe’s life story is also filled with near escapes, nefarious friends, bizarre escapades.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
-
This was where they were raised, where the future Reality Bites director would goof around with the other kids in their building and shoot their escapades with a Super 8 Canon his dad bought him.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yes, the natural charisma is there, but gone are the hammy flourishes and over-the-top gags.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Recurring gags, like one with Madonna suddenly falling asleep mid-sentence, are surprising and therefore funny the first time they’re rolled out, and then less surprising and therefore less funny with each repetition.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Cardell Williams completed 8 of 11 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns to speedster Ernest Campbell as the Hornets won for the sixth time in their last eight outings with two conference games to go.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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Meanwhile, up north, the 6-2 Seahawks are coming off an authoritative victory over the Washington Commanders last week and will try to extend their win streak to four games and hang onto their spot atop the division.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Preconfigured toppings include the Gold Standard (smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, lemon), the Summer Girl (burrata, grated tomato) and the Brusco (Calabrian cream cheese, pistachio mortadella, honey).—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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White wine, shallots, and lemon zest and juice build on what the butter and garlic get started, and a couple tablespoons of capers give the dish a zesty tang.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pranks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pranks. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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