as in hijinks
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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Recent Examples of tomfoolery
Venerable baby boomer Kevin Bacon plays the titular bounty hunter Hub Halloran, a proud Georgia man with little tolerance for tomfoolery and a hatred of the Red Sox.
—
Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
In December, when the C.E.O. of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down in midtown Manhattan, an outpouring of online tomfoolery unfolded alongside the news story itself.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The tomfoolery that's going on in D.C., that's just regular everyday business to Black folks.
—Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my commentary.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tomfoolery
Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
In December, when the C.E.O. of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down in midtown Manhattan, an outpouring of online tomfoolery unfolded alongside the news story itself.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The tomfoolery that's going on in D.C., that's just regular everyday business to Black folks.
—Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my commentary.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tomfoolery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tomfoolery
Noun
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His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
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There is, in fact, real stagecraft along with the buffoonery.—
Susan B. Glasser,
The New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The action anime feature for everyone who couldn’t get enough of the horseplay in The Two Towers has finally cantered onto Max.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2025
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Mike Vrabel’s back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly all drop by to participate in the Jack-foolery.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
2 Feb. 2022
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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
Cite this Entry
“Tomfoolery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tomfoolery. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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