1
as in mischief
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 tomfoolery
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of shenanigans
That makes the killers kind of human and fallible and clumsy, and these movies get a lot of mileage out of the slapstick shenanigans of their slasher chases.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
That, in turn, would have allowed the Heat to fully explore their pipeline, hardly draw the type of Silver scrutiny that Utah and Indiana did with their lineup shenanigans, and removed the pressure from Erik Spoelstra of trying to win now rather than develop for later.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
And when YouTube pulls these shenanigans again, the industry needs to stand up and not allow YouTube to deepen its power over artists.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026
The next six weeks will be both challenging and fun thanks to team shenanigans.
—Stan Son, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Some shenanigans may have gone too far.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
The political firebrand has been vocal about his opposition to government shenanigans for more than half a century.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
There have been all sorts of concerns for a while, including shenanigans around using metrics from SaaS to apply to AI-native companies (that logic is specious at best).
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
Pools, trails, nine-hole putting, a pond (essential for childhood shenanigans), and nightly s’mores by the firepit.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
That, in turn, would have allowed the Heat to fully explore their pipeline, hardly draw the type of Silver scrutiny that Utah and Indiana did with their lineup shenanigans, and removed the pressure from Erik Spoelstra of trying to win now rather than develop for later.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
And when YouTube pulls these shenanigans again, the industry needs to stand up and not allow YouTube to deepen its power over artists.
—Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026
The next six weeks will be both challenging and fun thanks to team shenanigans.
—Stan Son, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Some shenanigans may have gone too far.
—Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
The political firebrand has been vocal about his opposition to government shenanigans for more than half a century.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
There have been all sorts of concerns for a while, including shenanigans around using metrics from SaaS to apply to AI-native companies (that logic is specious at best).
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
Pools, trails, nine-hole putting, a pond (essential for childhood shenanigans), and nightly s’mores by the firepit.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigans
Noun
-
Shah Alam was initially charged with felony assault, burglary and criminal mischief.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
All three suspects have been charged with burglary and criminal mischief.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
But enough of all that tomfoolery, because there is one person on the beach who knows exactly what is about to happen!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Since the intoxication allegation came to light, the Phan brothers’ attorneys have filed motions to hold an evidentiary hearing to learn more about the crash and to dismiss their case all together for potential prosecutorial misconduct.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
2 Mar. 2026
-
But Gonzales is now contending with misconduct allegations involving a staffer who later died by suicide.—
Hunter Woodall,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The women’s team declined their joking invitation and had to explain comments directed at them.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The tiny macaque, born on July 26, is often spotted clutching a plush toy from IKEA and has melted hearts across the internet, inspiring a wave of comments from fans half-joking about booking flights to Japan to check on him.—
Joshua Mellin,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Death by Lightning, adapted by Mike Makowsky from Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book and directed by Matt Ross, hums with the strength of these performances, particularly Shannon’s quiet composure and Macfadyen mining new depths of buffoonery.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
North Coast Rep will present a show Dec. 11-Dec. 14 with bubbling energy and comedic buffoonery in the British Pantomime version of The Adventures of Robin Hood as its next student production.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There were bits of physical comedy — the flower, the bowing and scraping around Catherine de Bourgh — that was kind of clowning, really.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The balance is also what clowning is.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
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Yet this is truly an ensemble show, in which each performer has multiple opportunities to shine, executing some splendidly silly bits together, such as delivering CPR to a sandwich or convincingly channeling their inner tots during some post-bedtime horseplay.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The boys challenge each other to throw heavy objects, which leads to intense roughhousing.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Shenanigans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shenanigans. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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