buffoonery vs clowning

buffoonery and clowning both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
buffoonery	Yes	No	No	No
clowning	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, buffoonery and clowning are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of buffoonery include frivolity, harlequinade, japery, prank.

buffoonery (noun)	clowning (noun)
acting like a clown or buffoon	acting like a clown or buffoon
	a comic incident or series of incidents