as in horseplay
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
roughhousing was simply part of growing up in a family with four boys
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in wrestling
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in clowning
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughhousing
Noun
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Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.—
Tony Cook,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025 -
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
Verb
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Jesse and Jasper spend a lot of time snuggling, while Blaze loves playing and wrestling with his older brother.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Born and raised in Nova Scotia as Wade Douglas Bowles, Rocky Johnson started wrestling in 1964 in and around Toronto.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
When Peanut pulled his second escape act, his owners knew where to look and handled Peanut's disappearance in a joking manner.—
Michael Nied,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Multiple outlets that examined the reporting identified the claim as unverified and labeled the story a hoax; Colbert had previously made a joking on-air reference to streaming platforms but had not announced any deal with Netflix.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Propelled by one of guitarist Wes Borland’s hypnotic riffs, crunching beats, old-school record scratches and the group’s signature shouty choruses, the whole thing comes crashing to a close with a pummeling final chorus that finally nods to the country star in the title.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Yet to concede in their two games, Ronald Koeman’s Oranje are high on confidence after beating current group leaders Finland (played four) and pummeling Malta 8-0 in June.—
Jack Bantock,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This is why some people work nine hours a day, go to the gym, and roughhouse with their kids in the evening, while others already feel tired just thinking about this daily schedule.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
This makes the roughhouse ballet a satisfying bridge to the final scene in Roberta’s room, where their vulnerabilities are revealed.—
Peter Marks,
Washington Post,
14 Nov. 2023
Verb
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Later that night Plumier demonstrates by swiftly slapping the limp green body of a bullfrog hard across his leg.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Tchervinski can be seen in one of videos of the incident slapping a Black man.—
Cameron Knight,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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More importantly, Penske also describes this dynamic as antitrust behavior from a company abusing what the federal government has already described as Google’s monopoly status in the realm of Internet search.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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As part of his plea agreement, Styner admitted to abusing a total of a dozen victims.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Born Drew Desbordes, Druski, 30, is a long way from the kid who spent his time at the dinner table cutting up.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
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The large surface makes cutting up fruits, veggies and meat easy.—
Christopher Murray
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FOXNews.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Roughhousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughhousing. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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