1
as in mischief
usually shenanigans plural
playful, reckless behavior that is not intended to cause serious harm
students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school
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2
as in hijinks
usually shenanigans plural
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp
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3
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
the street-corner huckster of pirated DVDs had all sorts of shenanigans to keep the cops off of his tail
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Recent Examples of shenanigan
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
Arrietty says, perhaps hinting at some shenanigans ahead on season 17.
—EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The penultimate episode seemed to suggest one of the vampires might meet their second and finale, death while the others are up to their usual shenanigans.
—Shivani Gonzalez, New York Times, 16 Dec. 2024
Broad City saw Ilana and Abbi as fictional versions of themselves, best friends chasing their dreams and getting into shenanigans in New York City.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shenanigan 
Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 28 Dec. 2024
Arrietty says, perhaps hinting at some shenanigans ahead on season 17.
—EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
The penultimate episode seemed to suggest one of the vampires might meet their second and finale, death while the others are up to their usual shenanigans.
—Shivani Gonzalez, New York Times, 16 Dec. 2024
Broad City saw Ilana and Abbi as fictional versions of themselves, best friends chasing their dreams and getting into shenanigans in New York City.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shenanigan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shenanigan
Noun
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The London Cat, a great skinless feline who likes to turn people inside-out and embodies all the mischief and malevolence of cats).—
Christian Holub,
EW.com,
3 Jan. 2025
-
Daniel Taylor has written about the mentality, moves, and mischief which made him — and unearths his first ever scouting report.—
Jacob Whitehead,
The Athletic,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Back-to-school reality:Campus shootings rose dramatically last year Sheriff: Suspect used a 'ruse' to gain entry to the school The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to Honea.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA TODAY,
6 Dec. 2024
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They were given out-of-state weather reports to help play up the ruse in their small talk with customers.—
Joel Jacobs,
ProPublica,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Liberty has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2004 and has no history of misconduct.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Jan. 2025
-
Baldwin’s attorneys accused the state of misconduct, pointing to a batch of unexamined bullets that a potential witness turned over to sheriff’s investigators last March.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
In short, its core competency needs to be responding to predictable natural disasters rather than virtue-signaling about climate change that its expensive (but piddling in the global scheme of things) green-energy initiatives are powerless to affect one way or the other.—
The Editors,
National Review,
13 Jan. 2025
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The scheme, which launches on January 14th, is only available in Korea for now, with expansion to other countries planned for the future.—
Janhoi McGregor,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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If humans can use emotional tomfoolery to prevail over AI, there is a certain kind of endearing fulfillment in doing so.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
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Aside from those two couple moments, Turner's post also included plenty of tomfoolery with friends and documented some of her travels — from skiing in January to an October trip to an ancient temple in Egypt.—
Julia Moore,
People.com,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Magness recommended a trick backed by psychology: Use second- and third-person pronouns when talking to yourself, instead of first-person pronouns.—
Ashton Jackson,
CNBC,
17 Jan. 2025
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When working with one or a few rats, snacks like nuts, seeds, and fruit often do the trick.—
Laura Bradley,
Vulture,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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What’s so special about Britain’s patron wanker of bighearted buffoonery?—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 2025
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Fans are fixated on his greatness juxtaposed against the rest of the Bengals’ buffoonery.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
The Athletic,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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On my gondola, however, horseplay is not only encouraged, it is required.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside Online,
24 Sep. 2024
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Prosecutors allege Alec Baldwin engaged in ‘horseplay’ and acted recklessly on ‘Rust’ set.—
Colleen Shalby,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near shenanigan
Cite this Entry
“Shenanigan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shenanigan. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
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