1
as in mischief
usually shenanigans plural
playful, reckless behavior that is not intended to cause serious harm
students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in joking
usually shenanigans plural
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
the street-corner huckster of pirated DVDs had all sorts of shenanigans to keep the cops off of his tail
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shenanigan
Fans sitting in this section get a front-row seat to Gritty’s infamous skits and silly shenanigans throughout the game.
—
Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
And the mascot's drive to entertain fans on and off of the ice through stadium shenanigans and a hilarious social media presence is unmatched.
—Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
That means Hawkins Lab may get up to some minor shenanigans, and the Upside Down may harbor peculiar creatures — one of which props up the first season’s central mystery about a hostile spore-spreading species — but none of them can be any more nefarious or terrifying than what popped up before.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2026
After the whistle After all the shenanigans in Game 2 and across the league’s playoffs series in general, NHL officials addressed the post-whistle battles with the players Thursday morning.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shenanigan
Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
And the mascot's drive to entertain fans on and off of the ice through stadium shenanigans and a hilarious social media presence is unmatched.
—Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
That means Hawkins Lab may get up to some minor shenanigans, and the Upside Down may harbor peculiar creatures — one of which props up the first season’s central mystery about a hostile spore-spreading species — but none of them can be any more nefarious or terrifying than what popped up before.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Apr. 2026
After the whistle After all the shenanigans in Game 2 and across the league’s playoffs series in general, NHL officials addressed the post-whistle battles with the players Thursday morning.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shenanigan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigan
Noun
-
Mom was hit with a felony charge of criminal mischief and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
Schuman now faces a felony count of robbery by sudden snatching in addition to three misdemeanors — one count of battery, one count of petit theft and one count of criminal mischief, court records show.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
The president has long bristled at the otherwise customary joking at his expense by celebrity comedians.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Here opposites — classy and brassy — are distractions, with odd-couple joking substituting for something more substantial.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
They are accused of using several ruses to force their way into people’s homes, assaulting unsuspecting residents and holding them hostage for their own money, and demanding access to their crypto accounts.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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To sustain her ruse, Suzanne discovers volumes of diaries written by the painter’s late wife.—
Ben Croll,
IndieWire,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
The committee has established a special investigative subcommittee to examine whether Mills engaged in conduct that could include improper relationships, financial misconduct, or abuse of his official position.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
11 May 2026
-
In the months that followed, former students began filing lawsuits alleging abuse and misconduct at the program.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Warm temperatures should keep the snow from causing too much traffic tomfoolery on Tuesday, but by the evening, roads are likely to turn slick, Danielson said.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
4 May 2026
-
The Jazz are 15-35, which puts them at the sixth pick if zero lottery-ball tomfoolery happens.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Scott said Williamson never spoke directly with Becerra about the scheme.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
-
Quantum threats target the mathematical structure of encryption schemes like RSA and ECC; vaulted tokenization removes that target by decoupling data from its representation.—
Ed Leavens,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Winston makes a cameo to execute another electric Ford Field trick play, and the Giants lose a close one with their offense starting to find a new gear.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
Sophisticated as chatbots’ responses may be, they are stitched together from statistical patterns in large datasets—an impressive trick but one that still falls short of the breadth and reliability in human-level clinical reasoning.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
The show, with its interest in corporate buffoonery, doesn’t quite manage to hand-wave away the queasy implications.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Receivers have cratered seasons with me-over-we buffoonery.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shenanigan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shenanigan. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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