as in roughhousing
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
their parents simply wouldn't tolerate any roughhouse in the living room
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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
Verb
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There’s nothing more exhausting than wrestling a mattress pad over the corners of your mattress, but this one’s deep pockets can fit mattresses up to 16 inches thick.—
Jamie Fischer,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Nov. 2025
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Agents wrestle Figueroa from the vehicle and detain her on the ground.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The chicken, now cut up into small pieces at the lunch hour, soaks up the broth and packs an even more flavorful punch.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
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Guests ate slices of Chantilly sheet cakes from Whole Foods, which were cut up in the back and served with the rest of the desserts.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Self was in a joking mood when asked about the squad’s stellar defensive play.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
29 Oct. 2025
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Jones eventually got into his joking bag, and Bleek took that opportunity to seriously set the record straight one last time.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ridglan Farms, which was under investigation on allegations of mistreating its dogs, agreed to halt its breeding operation by July 1, meaning employees can no longer breed and sell beagles at the facility.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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Klingerman alleged in Don't Date Brandon that Johnson was cheating and mistreated her older daughter, Lexus, from a previous relationship.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Many foreign attendees at San Fermín have no stomach for the spectacle and spend their early evenings carousing in local bars instead.—
Tony Perrottet,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 June 2025
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These increasingly crazed visitors spend their days lazing on the shore, drinking and eating, carousing with prostitutes, and abusing Rosa (played by B-movie actress Leonora Fani, who would also star in the equally notorious vacation film Giallo in Venice) for their own entertainment.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
Noun
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But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Your impatience with Bruno Tonioli’s horseplay was missed, lady!—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those are precisely the stocks that were pummeled yesterday.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
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Last month hundreds of trekkers had to be rescued from the northern Chinese side of Everest after unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummelled the Himalayas.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Stephen King novel that inspired two previous versions, one a TV miniseries with Tim Curry defining the evil clown Pennywise for the ages, the other a two-part theatrical release in 2017 and 2019, of which the first part was much better than the second.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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Bill Skarsgård returns as killer clown Pennywise.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roughhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughhouse. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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