as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
our coworker's clowning was distracting, but fun to watch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in miming
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in cutting up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clowning
Noun
-
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 -
There is, in fact, real stagecraft along with the buffoonery.—
Susan B. Glasser,
The New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The dog's posture in the viral clip is unsurprising because research has shown that canines are capable of imitating human actions.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
-
Art is imitating life for Jennifer Lopez.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
2 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
-
For all his tomfoolery before and after PKs, Loons director of goalkeeping Tom Fawdry was impressed with St. Clair’s poise in the big moment.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
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
-
Key speeches are faithfully delivered to an audience of two, not thousands; a scene of soldiers destructively revelling on a bridge is given a different spirit by ironic, out-of-time horseplay.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The main romance is dull, but there’s plenty of fun slapstick and creative set-pieces in John Hughes’ script to make up for it.—
Barry Levitt,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
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Then there was the slapstick comedy of bellhop Esteban and janitor/inventor Arwin.—
Skyler Trepel,
EW.com,
18 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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