1
as in to horse around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fool around
Why fool around with a convention that everyone understood and practiced?
—
Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
Those who crave the thrill of a victory may embody the competitor.
Bigger, bolder personalities may shine as jokers, always fooling around, or as storytellers, bringing imagination to life.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 23 Feb. 2025
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
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
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
Those who crave the thrill of a victory may embody the competitor.
Bigger, bolder personalities may shine as jokers, always fooling around, or as storytellers, bringing imagination to life.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 23 Feb. 2025
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
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
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around
Verb
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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
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He's surrounded by a charming and intense stable of doctors, nurses, EMTs, and patients played by Tracy Ifeachor, Shawn Hatosy, Supriya Ganesh, Patrick Ball, Fiona Dourif, and Taylor Dearden.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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Whitaker is played by Gerran Howell, who carried the title role on the CBBC's Young Dracula (2006–2014) before appearing on NBC's Emerald City (2017) and Hulu's adaptation of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (2019).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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The same goes for the other two Corvette concepts GM is expected to show off in 2025.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
7 Apr. 2025
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During the broadcast, Ripa also showed off a photo that didn't make the cut.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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For quick messes around the house and in the car, opt for this handheld vacuum with more than 70,600 five-star ratings.—
Isabel Garcia,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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Battle League launched a little bit light on content, with only a few stadiums to mess around with, simplified gameplay compared to past games in the series, and a small selection of characters.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Is his palm injury acting up again, or the pressure to join the elite company of Jack Nicklaus, who won 3 times at The PLAYERS Championship?—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
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Clarke Schmidt’s back acted up, and then his shoulder.—
Brendan Kuty,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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When Alison Krauss was kicking around ideas on what to name her latest album with Union Station, the eureka moment came while on the phone with a friend, who just happened to be on their way to play a church gig in a tiny Louisiana town called Arcadia.—
Garret K. Woodward,
Rolling Stone,
30 Mar. 2025
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The Barnes & Noble move to Palms with a modern store design comes as the chain is on an expansion kick around the country.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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