as in roughhousing
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
their parents simply wouldn't tolerate any roughhouse in the living room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to wrestle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of roughhouse
Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Feb. 2023
Brazil’s team, a double defending champion, had been eliminated in the group stage in the 1966 championship in England, with Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament by the roughhouse play of Brazil’s opponents.
—Tariq Panja, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2022
Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2024
These inflatable body bumpers do just that while also ensuring that kiddos don’t get hurt while roughhousing in the backyard, park, or beach.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 14 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for roughhouse
Noun
Geno lost his composure at the end of the game, picked up a T, then critiqued South Carolina’s roughhouse style.
—Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Feb. 2023
Brazil’s team, a double defending champion, had been eliminated in the group stage in the 1966 championship in England, with Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament by the roughhouse play of Brazil’s opponents.
—Tariq Panja, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2022
Verb
There were nights spent roughhousing at the fire station, maybe engaging in a pillow fight or two.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2024
These inflatable body bumpers do just that while also ensuring that kiddos don’t get hurt while roughhousing in the backyard, park, or beach.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 14 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for roughhouse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughhouse
Noun
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The boys challenge each other to throw heavy objects, which leads to intense roughhousing.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
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The actor shared rare photos of the teen with his younger siblings, getting it in at the gym, hiking, and roughhousing.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Throughout, Iranians have been wrestling with widely mixed feelings over the war, the ruling theocracy and the future.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Like many websites, Wikipedia has wrestled with how to handle the paradigm shift in generative AI for online text content.—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Most Popular Notorious murderer Richard Crafts, who used a chain saw to cut up his wife’s body and a wood chipper to dispose of it, is out of prison and living in a halfway house, a state Department of Correction spokeswoman said Friday.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
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When the singing was done Ma Binney brought me back to her tent and cut up a tomato, put it between two slices of bread, and served it to me on a china plate taken from a wooden chest next to her bed-roll.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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There was none of the usual laughing and joking.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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Lindsay says that Jesse was serious about asking, but that the make-out would be a joking make-out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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People created memes and videos mocking Roan for mistreating children.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
25 Mar. 2026
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Brazilian soccer star Jorginho Frello is accusing Chappell Roan‘s team of mistreating his 11-year-old daughter at a hotel in São Paulo.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The team were meek in defeat, but after a weekend carousing and communing in central London, Newcastle fans arrived at Wembley with a collective hangover.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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But that doesn’t add much beyond three crusty Báthory ancestors carousing drunkenly in their coffins.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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More horseplay: Saturday brings the 75th running of the Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, a chance to watch horses that will soon run in the Kentucky Derby, but also an excuse for locals to dress up with outfits topped by a hat or fascinator.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
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Those dousings also prompted outrage from police leaders — who decried it as an inexcusable sign of disrespect, and even suggested that officers willing to walk away from that kind of horseplay should consider another line of work.—
Anthony Izaguirre,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hurley was burned out after his Huskies failed to play to the program’s standard, and after he was pummeled nationally during the 2024-25 season for his combustible sideline disposition, in Maui and beyond.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
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Philosophy, too, is pummelled into profitability.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Roughhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughhouse. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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