as in hijinks
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
their madcap buffoonery turned the duo into the nation's hottest comedy act
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Recent Examples of buffoonery
Certainly, an irreverent portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte is warranted, but at two and a half hours of alternating brutality and buffoonery, this movie really tries one’s patience.
—
Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2024
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
There is, in fact, real stagecraft along with the buffoonery.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
But through the lens of director Bong’s twisted sense of humor, that buffoonery comes from somewhere dark.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffoonery
Joe Reid, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2024
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
There is, in fact, real stagecraft along with the buffoonery.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025
But through the lens of director Bong’s twisted sense of humor, that buffoonery comes from somewhere dark.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffoonery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buffoonery
Noun
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Judge Judy, has served up swift justice with a sharp tongue and zero patience for tomfoolery.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
21 July 2025
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Your first thought would be that certainly the LLM won’t fall for this kind of tomfoolery.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Noun
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Tirhakah Love is a senior writer at New York Magazine and the host of the new evening newsletter Dinner Party, a daily email that touches on all things entertainment — that means film, television, music, tech, and gaming — plus politics and corporate clownery.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2022
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The Winx Club live action is a big clownery!—
Olivia Truffaut-Wong,
refinery29.com,
25 Jan. 2021
Noun
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Butch Baker, who was Henry County sheriff until 2014, recalled an incident in which Bertram was accused of inappropriate horseplay at the community corrections office.—
Tony Cook,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025
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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
Noun
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Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly all drop by to participate in the Jack-foolery.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
2 Feb. 2022
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The whole of humanity doesn’t fit tidily into three acts, even assuming as much frame-breaking foolery as Wilder allows.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2022
Noun
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There’s some slapstick comedy and threatening language that may need to be discussed with younger kids.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
18 July 2025
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This is the kind of transformation the Rockies, who took Condon with the third pick in the ’24 Draft and signed him with a $9.25 million bonus, desperately need to go from slapstick comedy to serious contenders.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Buffoonery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buffoonery. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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