as in funning
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
all that monkeying was sure to end in someone or something getting hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in ornery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkeying
Adjective
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The protagonist is an ornery, unemployed academic (Lee Sung-jae) who becomes fixated on a barking dog in his apartment complex, and goes to extreme lengths to silence it.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2025 -
The offensive line, in Monken’s estimation, is the most talented and possibly most ornery unit he’s had at West Point, all the way down to wrestling each other to settle arguments about who’s tougher.—
Brian Hamilton,
The Athletic,
21 Nov. 2024
Verb
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What sets Fay apart, too, is the harmonious amalgamation of characteristically Italian design with the sensibility of New England—and its earnest commitment not to appropriating or copying a certain aesthetic, but to embracing it authentically and blending it perfectly with Fay’s own design values.—
Caroline Reilly,
Robb Report,
3 Jan. 2025
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Over time, the tradition gained cultural significance, and many started copying it in the hopes of a prosperous year ahead.—
George Monastiriakos,
Newsweek,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In 1950, scientists deployed a virus called Myxoma to destroy the rascally rabbits.—
Bethany Brookshire,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 Dec. 2022
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The Los Angeles Rams, starring as the rascally rabbit, defeated the slow-and-deliberate Cincinnati Bengals in a fascinating case study between completely opposite approaches to team-building.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2022
Adjective
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These glassy encasements elevated each itty-bitty snapshot of kitschy urban ephemera (a taxi cab, a bodega coffee cup, a slice of pizza, a smiley-face plastic shopping bag) to a surprising elegance—undercut with impish humor.—
Marina Harss,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2025
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Advertisement Molly, played with impish vivacity and quiet resolve by Michelle Williams, bears little resemblance to the Hollywood archetype of the beautiful young woman dying of cancer.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The dog's posture in the viral clip is unsurprising because research has shown that canines are capable of imitating human actions.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
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Art is imitating life for Jennifer Lopez.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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This isn't the first case of April Fools' tomfoolery from BabyQuip.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In person, Wood is funny but sedate, speaking in a deadpan carried along by a prankish undercurrent.—
Ismail Muhammad,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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Fuchs put a prankish spin on the descending octaves that tootle above the reprise of the symphony’s solemn opening.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Wells could be playful, knavish, and his tone here is one of urgency and optimism about the distribution of information.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
30 July 2021
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The same people who are now telling us that only Republican-voting obscurantists, ignorant deplorables and knavish right-wing media pundits are raising doubts about the vaccine would have been oozing skepticism.—
Gerard Baker,
WSJ,
12 July 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Monkeying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkeying. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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