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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clowning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughhousing
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 -
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
Verb
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That’s an impressive feat given there was almost two hours without wrestling on a three-hour show.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
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Tonight's broadcast promises an exciting lineup of special guests, including John Cena, who will officially retire from wrestling this year, along with Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes,
7 Jan. 2025
Noun
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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
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Weighing between eight and 10 pounds, these pooches are not ideal for young kids who tend to roughhouse.—
Country Living,
Country Living,
1 May 2023
Noun
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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
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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
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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 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
“Roughhousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughhousing. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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