as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
a close-knit family constantly exchanging lighthearted joshes at the dinner table
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as in to joke
to make jokes
a very outgoing man who joshes with everyone he meets
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Recent Examples of josh
Brendan Le, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The family joshing and loving is great fun here; both Liss and Montana are terrific, live-wire young performers, thanks surely in part to Alex Mallory’s direction, and Rifai has given them a banquet of vibrant lines.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Ripa—expertly self-deprecatory, humble in the face of escalating absurdities—joshed that their attendance was a form of punishment, and instead courted the home viewer’s attention.
—Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Verb
See which companies are just joshing on social media — and which one has a real deal for you!
—Brendan Le, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The family joshing and loving is great fun here; both Liss and Montana are terrific, live-wire young performers, thanks surely in part to Alex Mallory’s direction, and Rifai has given them a banquet of vibrant lines.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Ripa—expertly self-deprecatory, humble in the face of escalating absurdities—joshed that their attendance was a form of punishment, and instead courted the home viewer’s attention.
—Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for josh
Noun
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Meanwhile, Corden, as the event’s emcee, made some uncomfortable jokes about the Dow dropping 2200 points last Friday.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2025
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These jokes referenced economic news of the past week.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After a day on the slopes at Lost Trail, make your way to the tiny town of Jackson, which will make Philipsburg and Anaconda seem like large metropolitan areas (kidding, kinda).—
Will McGough,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Huang may have been kidding, but Nvidia spent much of its event detailing just how much better its Blackwell chips are.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In a bit role, Morgan McGhee delivers big laughs with her loopy take as a newscaster.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2025
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The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-host was spotted sharing a laugh with his daughter Mia and his niece Savannah Phillips on Christmas at Sandringham in December 2024, joining the royals for church on the holiday.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The trailer also teases a subplot involving a pregnancy between Sue Storm and Reed Richards, possibly hinting at the birth of their son, Franklin Richards, a character with universe-altering powers in Marvel lore.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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Fans of the finger food, made with a tortilla-crumb breading, can look forward to having it year-round, as Taco Bell teased plans to make nuggets part of the permanent menu by 2026.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The most comprehensive sally, of course, is the administration’s drastic and abrupt cut in funding by the National Institutes of Health.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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Most recently, the Kremlin has settled on a strategy that involves legal sallies against international digital companies—including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.—
Andrei Soldatov,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Nov. 2015
Noun
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Based on previous research, archeologists know that Mongolians in this period were nomadic pastoralists, rotating herds of ruminants like sheep, goats, and yaks between pastures.—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
25 June 2024
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The three-year-old female yak was initially misidentified as a bison, a follow-up Facebook post stated.—
Graeme Taskerud,
The Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Josh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/josh. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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