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
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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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But what had once been raucous and raunchy mischief, was now benign horseplay.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025 -
Your impatience with Bruno Tonioli’s horseplay was missed, lady!—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The state's utility regulator, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), is also wrestling with the issues data centers raise.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Panels, policy rooms, and WhatsApp threads across the continent are wrestling with the same questions.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Self was in a joking mood when asked about the squad’s stellar defensive play.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
29 Oct. 2025
-
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
-
Attack People with narcissism often transition into the attack phase next, pummeling the character and credibility of their loved one.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Some moments he was transfixed by Sendak’s illustrations, particularly one of a rabbit, under one of Jack’s spells, pummeling the nameless dog; at others by the nature of Jack’s transformation.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 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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The van reaches home ground and no one talks and the only sound along that final stretch is El Camello slapping himself to scare away mosquitoes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
First, rather than slapping a latex mask and makeup on Schuster-Koloamatangi, performance capture technology is used to have Dek’s face come alive with the actor’s expressions.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The pair also pretended that Tammy was allegedly abusing them.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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Archbishop Mitty product and San Jose native Aaron Gordon scored 18 while abusing Podziemski and other Warriors guards in the low post.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 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
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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 15 Nov. 2025.
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