shenanigan
she·na·ni·gan/ʃəˈnænəɡən/noun, verb
shenanigan is spelled S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables (she·na·ni·gan). It appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shenanigan means “Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shenanigan is shenanigans.
How many letters and syllables are in shenanigan?
| Letters | 10: S-H-E-N-A-N-I-G-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: she·na·ni·gan |
| In writing | about once in every 30 million words; the 165,739th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is shenanigan?
Shenanigan appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shenanigan?
- UK /ʃɪˈnænɪɡ(ə)n/
- US /ʃəˈnænəɡən/
Shenanigan has 4 syllables, split she·na·ni·gan in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: Shenanigan_us.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-shenanigan.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-shenanigan.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shenanigan
- shenanigans plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shenaniganing participle, present
- shenaniganning participle, present
- shenaniganed participle, past
- shenaniganned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shenanigan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalsingular of shenanigans: a deceitful confidence trick; also, an act of mischief; a prank, a trick; an act of mischievous play, especially by children.
I spotted his next shenanigan–saw it coming–and so avoided being fooled.
- 2
datedinformalrareDishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous behaviour or play; high jinks.
verb
- 1
informalTo play a deceitful confidence trick on (someone); to swindle, to trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief on (someone); to prank.
- 2
informalTo play a deceitful confidence trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does shenanigan come from?
The origin of the noun is uncertain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).