Acting Badly or Not Seriously (Around): English Vocabulary List

to tell people constantly what to do or how to behave, in an arrogant way

"Do not boss me around."

"The manager likes to boss around his employees even when he does not know how to do their jobs properly."

to behave in a playful, silly, or humorous manner, often engaging in antics or comedic actions for amusement

"The children clowned around happily."

"The students were clowning around in the back of the classroom instead of paying attention to the teacher."

to waste time engaging in unproductive activities

"Stop faffing around and work."

"Stop faffing around and get to work because we have a lot to do before the end of the day."

to engage in playful, silly, or time-wasting activities

"Do not fool around in class."

"The children were fooling around in the pool when one of them slipped and hit his head on the side."

to spend time in a place, often without a specific purpose or activity

"Do not hang around the station alone."

"The teenagers tend to hang around the shopping mall on weekends because there is nothing else to do."

to treat someone in a cruel or unfair way, often by deceiving them or manipulating them

"Stop jerking around and get serious."

"Stop jerking me around and tell me the truth about what really happened last night."

to relax and do nothing or very little

"He lazes around all day."

"On Sunday mornings I like to laze around in my pajamas and drink coffee without doing any chores."

to waste time relaxing and doing nothing

"He likes to lie around."

"After a long week of work, he just wanted to lie around the house and relax."

to waste time or engage in idle, unproductive activity

"Stop messing around with the remote."

"The teenagers were messing around with the settings on the sound system and accidentally broke the speaker."

to engage in playful, often mischievous, or silly behavior without a clear purpose

"Do not monkey around with the controls."

"The children were told not to monkey around near the fragile glass display cases in the museum."

to consistently instruct someone on what to do in a bossy and unpleasant manner

"She orders everyone around rudely."

"The arrogant supervisor constantly orders around his subordinates as if they are his personal servants."

to spend time leisurely, often doing minor tasks or chores in or around the house

"He pottered around the garden."

"She likes to potter around the kitchen on Sunday mornings, making breakfast and tidying up."

to rudely or threateningly give orders to someone

"Do not push around smaller kids."

"The older boys tried to push around the new kid but he stood up to them and they left him alone."

to spend time doing nothing or nothing productive

"Do not sit around all day."

"Do not just sit around all day watching television because you need to be productive and active."

to spend time standing in a place without doing anything purposeful or without having a particular reason to be there

"Workers stand around doing nothing useful."

"The workers stood around chatting while the foreman was not watching instead of doing their actual jobs."

to remain in a place longer than originally intended, often with the expectation of waiting for something to happen or for someone to arrive

"Stick around after the show ends."

"If you stick around after the concert you might get a chance to meet the band."

to remain in one spot with nothing to do, expecting something to happen

"Do not wait around for miracles."

"The actors had to wait around for hours before the director was ready to film their short scene."

to behave in an irresponsible or stupid manner

"Stop playing around and work."

"Stop playing around and focus on your work because the deadline is approaching very quickly."

to play energetically and noisily

"The dog runs around the yard."

"The children ran around the playground screaming with joy until they were completely exhausted and ready to go home."