as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
made kidding remarks about her lack of skills in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
everybody's kidding me about my new haircut
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jesting
to make jokes
he always kids around about his "wild and crazy" life as an accountant
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in fooling
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kidding
Tom Smyth, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Maybe Happy Ending Just kidding.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidding
Verb
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Harry brought his trademark humor and warmth to the awards, a ceremony honoring seriously ill children who have shown incredible courage, joking and making smiles all around.—
Erin Hill,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The pair let the news spread for a few moments -- then Stern jumped on to clarify that Cohen had been joking.—
Ahmad Hemingway,
ABC News,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Spotify has been teasing the high-fidelity format for years.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
10 Sep. 2025
-
On Instagram, Alcaraz — who defeated Jannik Sinner in four sets to win his second title at the prestigious tournament held in New York — shared a carousel of images, teasing the process of his hairstyle switch-up.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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More Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images After Atlanta's preseason win to the Dallas Cowboys, an opposing Cowboys fan echoed the mocking mispronunciation of Penix's name that caught the quarterback's attention.—
Cecil Merkerson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Aug. 2025
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Ross is also executive producer of Netflix’s celebrity roasts as well as a writer and a performer on them, including the headlines-making mocking of former NFL quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
Billboard,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
In the Mets’ clubhouse, Soto’s lack of speed is the butt of good-natured ribbing.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The program has sparked controversy and backlash from progressives on multiple occasions during its more than two-decade history on the air for its satirical representations of religious figures, extensive use of racist language and ribbing of climate change activists.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.—
Yvonne Kim,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
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That means having to cut jokes that don't fit his do-no-harm MO.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidding. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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