GOOFING (AROUND) Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

goofing (around)

verb

present participle of goof (around)

as in fiddling (around)

to spend time in aimless activity we've been goofing around long enough; it's time to get some real work done

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for goofing (around)

Verb

Each has the perspective of attending East Side schools, playing football and returning to teach and coach at the high school.

— Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
The main reason the Giants have a chance to win every week, though, despite all their injuries and heart-stopping endings, is that Jameis Winston is playing well as their starting quarterback.

— Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of playing

Verb

Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.

— Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 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, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026

Definition of fooling around

Verb

There will be no more messing around with draggy eye pencils or the emperor’s new eye shadows.

— Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Both of France’s sons seem to appreciate imaginative play over messing around with action figures, something that makes perfect sense given France’s own love for the arts.

— Marah Eakin, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of messing around

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
In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.

— Elliott Harrell, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025

Definition of hanging about

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.

Browse Nearby Words

goofiness

goofing (around)

goofing (off)

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Style

“Goofing (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goofing%20%28around%29. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of goofing (around)

verb

Example Sentences

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