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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clown (around)
Verb
-
Quit horsing around — the Clydesdales are back!—
Breanne L. Heldman,
People.com,
10 Feb. 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
-
As Molly and Guy start to fool around, things get hot and heavy, but Ernie has a job to do.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Plotwise, four teens who grew up with technology and like to fool around on their laptops invading various verboten sites and having a great time doing it one day happen upon a bright idea.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Skrillex has never restricted his distension of sonic materials to merely supersizing his bass lines, and among other things, the voices on this album are routinely phased and retuned and cut up.—
Michaelangelo Matos,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2025
-
To prove that a three-piece solution was trickier, the mathematicians found that there were an infinite number of ways to cut up the triangle in this solution.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The trailer shows off stunts that seem to top the death-defying moves Cruise has become known for.—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
-
During the broadcast, Ripa also showed off a photo that didn't make the cut.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Clown (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clown%20%28around%29. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share