as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
the open bar may have had something to do with the tomfoolery at the wedding reception
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tomfoolery
Be careful and look out for more of your mom's tomfoolery.
—
Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025
Fortunately, there are far more people in important positions who don’t want any part of this tomfoolery.
—Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Men are getting in on the tomfoolery too, with a handful now playing the part of a worried Eliza in their own video versions.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tomfoolery
Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
For instance, in between Avi’s 2004 plane ride that starts the episode’s main arc and its last-second flash-forward to 2022, the premiere revels in the rapid wordplay of a gentile girlfriend meeting a vibrant Jewish family and the general tomfoolery of a jubilant bar mitzvah.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025
Fortunately, there are far more people in important positions who don’t want any part of this tomfoolery.
—Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Men are getting in on the tomfoolery too, with a handful now playing the part of a worried Eliza in their own video versions.
—Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tomfoolery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tomfoolery
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
Noun
-
Since medieval times, the colorful fool—from court jesters to Shakespeare’s characters—has used playful wit to critique authority and buffoonery to whip up excitement.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Their relationship, tentative, intimate, and defiant, lingers long after the satirical skewering of male buffoonery has faded.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Art, meanwhile, occupies a lonely table in the pizzeria and tries to put on his best clowning act for the two women.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
As with older clowning traditions, the early American circus clowns were adults performing taboo acts to shock and delight other adults.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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
Noun
-
The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2022
-
Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful.—
Stanislav Budnitsky,
The Conversation,
19 Apr. 2022
Noun
-
As for Abdul-Mateen, the clownery will resume for him on Broadway.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2022
-
Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
Noun
-
In the end, of course, an angry mob does chase the monsters around the castle, only to be chased by them in return (the monsters having rediscovered their reason for being), which results in some serviceable monster slapstick.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
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The film — part chilling revenge thriller and part absurd slapstick — is riveting.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As for footwear, Kurt Geiger’s penchant for playfulness continues.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
31 Oct. 2025
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That’s a very artistic sense of playfulness.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tomfoolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tomfoolery. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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