cavorting

American  

[kuh-vawr-ting] / kəˈvɔr tɪŋ /

adjective

1. romping or capering playfully about; frolicking.

   Here you can see Arctic life up close—snowy owls, white foxes, cavorting polar bear cubs, and the amazing sled dogs.

2. behaving in a high-spirited, playful way.

   During a game of musical statues, the shy boy stood motionless in the middle of the cavorting group.

3. partying or behaving in an unrestrained way, often with the implication of sexual activity.

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noun

1. the act of frolicking playfully about, behaving in a high-spirited or unrestrained way, or partying, often with the implication of sexual activity.

   Recent reports of drunken cavorting with a 19-year-old model have damaged the mayor’s squeaky-clean image.

Etymology

Origin of cavorting

First recorded in 1835–45; cavort ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; cavort ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

Gibson, the veteran center, had himself a nice homecoming, where he shot his way to a season-high 14 points and career-high four three-pointers, all while cavorting in front of his former team’s bench several times.

From Washington Post

“It goes back to when Cary Grant was cavorting with 22-year-olds” on screen, Rogers said.

From Los Angeles Times

O’Connor leans heavily into that fusing of the inner and natural worlds: There’s lots of twirling about in “Emily,” often amid drenching rainstorms while cavorting on those aforementioned dales.

From Washington Post

Long before Trump was anything but a Manhattan real estate gadfly cavorting at Mar-a-Lago with mobsters, mid-level celebrities and child sex traffickers, Republicans were spreading the fictional narrative that elections were routinely stolen by Democrats.

From Salon

Those two substances are in abundant supply during a storm at sea that buffets a luxury yacht where the models, the oligarch and other characters have been cavorting.

From New York Times

Related Words

• boisterous
• jaunty
• joyful
• joyous
• lighthearted
• merry
• spirited
• sprightly