messing around
Not being serious
Messing around is spending time without serious purpose—puttering, goofing off, or occupying oneself casually: We spent the afternoon just messing around in the garage.
It can also mean behaving irresponsibly or carelessly: Stop messing around and focus.
In relationships, messing around often implies casual sexual activity or infidelity: He found out she'd been messing around with someone from work.
Boisterous rough behavior
- tomfooleryFoolish or silly behavior
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- goofing offIdling instead of working
- clowningPlayful comic behavior
roughhousing · hijinks · antics · pranks · joking · teasing · banter · silliness
Passing moments idly
- putteringUnhurried aimless activity
- tinkeringCasual, unskilled adjusting
- dabblingShallow, casual involvement
- loungingReclining in idleness
idling · loafing · hanging out · chilling · unwinding · passing time · relaxing · lazing
Aimless, restless manipulation
- experimentingTesting to learn outcomes
- toyingHandling carelessly or idly
- tweakingSlight adjustment process
- adjustingAltering to correct
tampering · playing with · futzing · mucking about · jiggering · meddling · puttering · improvising
Playfully showing romantic interest
- dallianceBrief, casual romance
- flingForceful toss, or tryst
- affairRomantic entanglement outside commitment
- canoodlingAmorous physical affection
philandering · two-timing · cheating · infidelity · tryst · liaison · rendezvous · hanky-panky
horseplay
Boisterous rough behavior
- tomfooleryFoolish or silly behavior
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- goofing offIdling instead of working
clowning · roughhousing · hijinks · antics · pranks · joking · teasing · banter · silliness · buffoonery
killing time
Passing moments idly
- putteringUnhurried aimless activity
- tinkeringCasual, unskilled adjusting
- dabblingShallow, casual involvement
lounging · idling · loafing · hanging out · chilling · unwinding · passing time · relaxing · lazing · doodling
fiddling
Aimless, restless manipulation
- experimentingTesting to learn outcomes
- toyingHandling carelessly or idly
- tweakingSlight adjustment process
adjusting · tampering · playing with · futzing · mucking about · jiggering · meddling · puttering · improvising · trial and error
flirting
Playfully showing romantic interest
- dallianceBrief, casual romance
- flingForceful toss, or tryst
- affairRomantic entanglement outside commitment
canoodling · philandering · two-timing · cheating · infidelity · tryst · liaison · rendezvous · hanky-panky · carrying on
- slang behaviorsgoofing off, slacking, loafing, chilling, hanging out
- fooling aroundjoking, kidding, jesting, fooling, teasing
- mischiefmischief, hijinks, antics, pranks, antic
- horseplayroughhousing, hijinks, antics, horseplay, high jinks
- infidelityadultery, affair, adulteress, cheating, cheater
- idle timekilling time, passing time, wasting time, whiling away, doing nothing
messing aroundgetting down to business
Focusing on the task
buckling down · focusing · concentrating · applying oneself · knuckling down
mess, around, messy, messed, messes, messing, messier, messiest, mess up