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hijinks

6 synonyms and 0 antonyms for hijinks, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — Lively, mischievous fun and boisterous goings-on — the kind of harmless misbehaviour that makes a good story afterwards.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

shenanigans antics capers escapades monkey business tomfoolery

How to Use Hijinks

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

comic hijinks drunken hijinks hijinks ensue get up to hijinks

Informal and light-hearted. Always plural in form and takes a plural verb: the hijinks were harmless.

Etymology

From the earlier phrase high jinks, originally the name of a boisterous parlour drinking game.

Full origin of hijinks →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between hijinks and shenanigans?

Hijinks are almost always innocent — noisy, playful and harmless. Shenanigans carries a stronger suggestion of trickery or rule-bending, which is why you hear about financial shenanigans but never financial hijinks.

Is it hijinks or high jinks?

Both are correct. High jinks is the original two-word spelling and hijinks is the modern closed form, now the more common of the two, especially in American writing.

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Synonyms and antonyms from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.