as in horseplay
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
roughhousing was simply part of growing up in a family with four boys
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in wrestling
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in clowning
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughhousing
Noun
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Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.—
Tony Cook,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025 -
The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are now wrestling under different monikers as part of their new masked gimmick.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
With Austin Reaves shooing Hachimura off-stage and playfully wrestling the mic away.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Only an Aries, like Lily, can take Barney’s jabs in a joking way.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
19 Sep. 2025
-
When Peanut pulled his second escape act, his owners knew where to look and handled Peanut's disappearance in a joking manner.—
Michael Nied,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But the trip is going to be an extreme test of fortitude, fate, and faith, evidenced by Lionsgate's preview revealing obstacles including a hellish radiation storm, monster waves, meteors pummeling the Earth, and lethal bands of desperate survivors prowling the continent.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Momoa, who leads Kamehameha’s forces from the front, had to balance spearing and pummelling his way through Keōua’s army on camera with coordinating other units following other characters through the bloody scrum.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This is why some people work nine hours a day, go to the gym, and roughhouse with their kids in the evening, while others already feel tired just thinking about this daily schedule.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
This makes the roughhouse ballet a satisfying bridge to the final scene in Roberta’s room, where their vulnerabilities are revealed.—
Peter Marks,
Washington Post,
14 Nov. 2023
Verb
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By slapping a $100,000 filing fee on H=1B visas, the White House has declared the days of cheap labor pipelines and visa abuse officially over.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
On the knee-to-knee collision between each team’s superstar, Collier badly rolled her left ankle and was lying on the floor and slapping the court with her hand as Thomas made her drive.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Last year, Cindy Clemishire, 55, accused Morris of abusing her at the age of 12.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Cardi responded in kind, speculating whether or not Minaj was abusing substances, and insinuating that Minaj’s substance use has affected her children’s health.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Proposition 50 would turn back the clock of progress, cutting up our neighborhoods for political gain and silencing the very voices that fought hardest for fairness.—
Bernadette Suarez,
Oc Register,
15 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Roughhousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughhousing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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