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
Relevance
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shenanigans
And billionaires and their shenanigans have become less entertaining and more consequential.
—
José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
In his latest mock, Sam gives us a full two rounds of picks, using the draft order without any lottery shenanigans in the mix.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
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
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
José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
In his latest mock, Sam gives us a full two rounds of picks, using the draft order without any lottery shenanigans in the mix.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigans
Noun
-
That’s likely why his movie is more daring in its humor and tone, bringing a refreshing infusion of mischief to Pixar while maintaining the genuine emotional gravitas that has endeared the company to audiences for over 30 years.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Toni Rice, 44, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal mischief, tampering with physical evidence, intimidating a participant in the legal process and tampering with a witness, as well as misdemeanor charges of failing to stop and render aid, falsely reporting an incident and official misconduct.—
Caroline Neal,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Mar. 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
-
When allegations of misconduct arose against Krauss at ASU, the physicist exchanged dozens of messages and emails with Epstein seeking advice on how to handle them.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
9 Mar. 2026
-
This comes amid the monarch’s cancer battle and Andrew’s arrest for misconduct in public office, with questions being asked about what King Charles and even Queen Elizabeth before him knew of Andrew’s dealings with Epstein.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lindsay says that Jesse was serious about asking, but that the make-out would be a joking make-out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The women’s team declined their joking invitation and had to explain comments directed at them.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
28 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
-
Yes, this is the modern clowning that all the thinkpieces are thinking about.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2026
-
With an impressive ability to do accents and a background in clowning, Storrie is made for this.—
Tiffany Kelly,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 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
-
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 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
