1
as in mischief
playful, reckless behavior that is not intended to cause serious harm
students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hijinks
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of shenanigans
The financial shenanigans carried out by a single employee went undiscovered for nearly three years – where were the company’s auditors or the board’s audit committee?
—
Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
The New Age After more than a year of courtroom shenanigans, the YSL trial finally ends.
—Rob Marriott, VIBE.com, 30 Dec. 2024
This is a game where the margin of error is not big enough for shenanigans like that.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 28 Dec. 2024
And our definition of social media was to converse about the over-the-top shenanigans of the fictional Ewing, Channing and Carrington clans at the proverbial office watercooler.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Around him, dense as a swarm of tiny insects, float tiny images of fellow adepts engaged in all manner of outré shenanigans.
—Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Hilarious cameos by everyone from Miley Cyrus to Ilana Glazer will keep you on your toes during the shenanigans in this 2015 comedy.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024
In fact, some of the funniest Scranton branch shenanigans come courtesy of the Party Planning Committee and itsDunder Mifflin Christmas party.
—Aurelie Corinthios, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
The 2005 episode centers around the shenanigans that ensue when Adams’s character, Katy, shows up to the Dunder Mifflin office trying to sell knock-off purses and the show’s male characters all vie for her attention.
—John Russell, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
The New Age After more than a year of courtroom shenanigans, the YSL trial finally ends.
—Rob Marriott, VIBE.com, 30 Dec. 2024
This is a game where the margin of error is not big enough for shenanigans like that.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 28 Dec. 2024
And our definition of social media was to converse about the over-the-top shenanigans of the fictional Ewing, Channing and Carrington clans at the proverbial office watercooler.
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Around him, dense as a swarm of tiny insects, float tiny images of fellow adepts engaged in all manner of outré shenanigans.
—Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Hilarious cameos by everyone from Miley Cyrus to Ilana Glazer will keep you on your toes during the shenanigans in this 2015 comedy.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024
In fact, some of the funniest Scranton branch shenanigans come courtesy of the Party Planning Committee and itsDunder Mifflin Christmas party.
—Aurelie Corinthios, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
The 2005 episode centers around the shenanigans that ensue when Adams’s character, Katy, shows up to the Dunder Mifflin office trying to sell knock-off purses and the show’s male characters all vie for her attention.
—John Russell, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigans
Noun
-
He was later convicted by a Rockland County Court of acting in a manner to injure a child and criminal mischief on June 3, 2024.—
Elizabeth Pritchett,
Fox News,
27 Feb. 2025
-
On Friday, police arrested Tedford on a felony criminal mischief charge in connection to the case.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The main purpose was to allow prospective employers — other federal agencies or local police — to check their backgrounds for misconduct.—
Martin Kaste,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Between fiscal years 2015 to 2019, agency inspectors general substantiated only 100 allegations of employee time and attendance misconduct or fraud out of a federal workforce of around 2.1 million employees (the GAO report did not include postal workers).—
Laura Doan,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In December, when the C.E.O. of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down in midtown Manhattan, an outpouring of online tomfoolery unfolded alongside the news story itself.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
The New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The tomfoolery that's going on in D.C., that's just regular everyday business to Black folks.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
There are no gilded gates here, but there is one heck of a party, complete with serenading busts, ballroom dancers, excitable opera singers, drunken buffoonery and portraits locked in an endless duel.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shenanigans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shenanigans. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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