as in kidding
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
grinned and gave him a joking nudge with my elbow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in jesting
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in funning
to make jokes
he was known for his ability to joke about his lack of anything resembling a social life
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
oh, don't get offended, I was just joking you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of joking
Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.
—Todd Nordstrom, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Of course, Martin and Short played right into the bit, with Short playfully falling to the floor after joking about how heavy the trophy was (multiple stars remarked about the weight of the statue during the live ceremony).
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And here are some of the comments from fans joking about Kelce’s blocking ability off the football field.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2025
Fans took to the comment section, joking about the billionaire and the Masked Singer host's baby-making competition.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Hoffman is only joking, of course.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Tim Lammers Apparently, Jagger wasn’t entirely joking.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Leigh, who had died of cancer a month earlier, in October 2015, had often asked her caregiver to move the hefty package and made seemingly joking references to a body being kept inside of it, according to the BBC.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Verb
For myself and many of my classmates, the four-story Forever 21 in Times Square was the most exciting part of our senior-class trip to New York City—not joking!
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.
—Todd Nordstrom, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Of course, Martin and Short played right into the bit, with Short playfully falling to the floor after joking about how heavy the trophy was (multiple stars remarked about the weight of the statue during the live ceremony).
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And here are some of the comments from fans joking about Kelce’s blocking ability off the football field.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2025
Fans took to the comment section, joking about the billionaire and the Masked Singer host's baby-making competition.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Hoffman is only joking, of course.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Tim Lammers Apparently, Jagger wasn’t entirely joking.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Leigh, who had died of cancer a month earlier, in October 2015, had often asked her caregiver to move the hefty package and made seemingly joking references to a body being kept inside of it, according to the BBC.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joking
Adjective
-
Emmy-nominated for the role the first time out, Ramsey is genius in it, the perfect amounts of precocious, sarcastic, and wide-eyedly vulnerable.—
Zing Tsjeng,
Vogue,
11 Apr. 2025
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What about someone who posts a meme that is satirical or a comment that is meant to be sarcastic?—
Peter Suciu,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Seinfeld was clearly teasing, but sure enough, several headlines reported it as gospel with perhaps a mention three paragraphs in that it was intended to be humorous.—
Jenelle Riley,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2025
-
From teasing his retirement to becoming a minister and everything in between, here’s a look at the Hollywood star’s year of surprises.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
Fox News,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Just ask anyone who's watched an AI confidently spit out nonsense—or worse.—
Bob Ras,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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While Drop, clocking in at an economical 93 minutes, may sound like fun and games, there’s something deeper and more human at its core than mindless nonsense.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Guthrie’s buddy Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) in visiting him, and Bob walks into the room looking quizzical.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Dec. 2024
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And there were some quizzical looks and whispers about the guy walking around the Peoria Sports Complex in restricted areas.—
Kevin Acee,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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