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
-
There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025 -
What’s so special about Britain’s patron wanker of bighearted buffoonery?—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 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
-
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
Noun
-
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
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And yes, there were cases on public roads where the horseplay turned dangerous.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The final moments of the 119-113 loss were stuffed with the slapstick goofiness expected from a Tuesday night matchup between two sub-500 teams.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Jan. 2025
-
Ani’s fight for their relationship, which turns literal at times, is alternately slapstick and touching.—
Scott Tobias,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Clowning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clowning. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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