as in to horse around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
as a youngster he was always clowning around in the classroom
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clown (around)
Verb
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Elsewhere, two boys, Frank and Alain, get up to assorted mischief, sneaking onto a baseball diamond at night or horsing around on railroad tracks, although there are hints that Frank’s family may leave Cuba soon.—
Ben Kenigsberg,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025 -
In the video, Payne is shown horsing around with a large outdoor crowd and his bandmates, encouraging the fans to quiet their screaming and then raise the volume all the way back up.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
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While Mark and Helly were fooling around, Helly wasn’t fulfilling her promise to go get the directions Irving left tucked behind Dylan’s motivational poster.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
21 Feb. 2025
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Louie's owner's TikTok account is full of the dog up to mischief, digging in the garden with his owner, watching TV, playing fetch, fooling around in the snow, and undergoing training.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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By sector, technology suffered the worst, with job cuts up 128 percent on-month to 7,488, followed by automotive (123 percent), services (106 percent), retail (96 percent), and media and news (27 percent).—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
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In the frying process, those odd crumbles can be cut up in a casual manner with a spatula.—
Cathy Thomas,
Orange County Register,
10 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Rays’ temporary home (Steinbrenner Field) is ready to show off.—
Ken Rosenthal,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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Along with an eye-catching diamond necklace and stud earrings by Tiffany & Co., Gomez also took the opportunity to show off her dazzling marquise engagement ring from Benny Blanco.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
16 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Clown (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clown%20%28around%29. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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