FOOL AROUND Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

fool around

verb

Definition of fool around

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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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of fool around Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026 The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026 Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects. — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026 Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general. — Quanta Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fool around

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around

Verb

Also, don’t get too out of control horsing around with friends in the water.

— John Natale, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
According to McGrady, the only royal who didn’t enjoy the time away in the Highlands was the late Princess Diana, who didn’t fit in with the family’s outdoorsy vibes and didn’t enjoy riding horses around the property due to a fall as a child.

— Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of horse around

Verb

Reimer played just one previous game this fall, a 35-save shutout in the American Hockey League on Saturday night, before signing an NHL contract for the rest of the season.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
The 2025 expansion team will have an opportunity to secure its first championship banner when Game 6 is played Thursday afternoon in Atlanta.

— Reuters, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of play

Verb

After Szabo cuts up Matt’s face in one of many graphic scenes, the actor loses his career and just about everything else in his life.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026
Union President Carrie Kyung said the plan includes cutting up to 18 English learner teachers and would affect at least two dozen schools.

— Jason Rantala, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of cut up

Verb

Why dupe culture hits different for Gen Z Pulling off a convincing dupe is a way to show off shopping intel and personal taste without the designer price tag attached.

— Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2026
Mi Cariño, built as a love letter to Latin cuisine, is centered on elevated Mexican flavors, showing off bright and smoky elements with a West Coast influence.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of show off

Verb

President James Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, died by hanging about five months after he was convicted of murder.

— USA Today, USA Today, 17 June 2026
On Monday, May 18, a 7%-illuminated crescent will hang about two degrees from Venus, with Jupiter about 20 degrees above.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 15 May 2026

Definition of hang about

Verb

But sleep was hard to come by, with her daughter’s asthma acting up and the anxiety of the hearing the following day.

— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Six weeks later, when that integration acts up again, the institutional memory that used to shorten the investigation may not be there.

— Sanjay Gidwani, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of act up

Verb

In other words, the idea of turning roads into giant wireless chargers has been kicking around for years, and some projects are now producing encouraging results rather than just concept illustrations.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Oct. 2026
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask has been kicking around Allure editors’ nightstands for years, and judging by its 2025 Readers’ Choice Award, plenty of you are just as hooked.

— Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of kick around

Browse Nearby Words

fool's paradises

fool around

fooled

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of fool around

verb

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