as in joke
a person or thing that is made fun of
his nerdy clothes made him the laughingstock of the schoolyard
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Recent Examples of laughingstock
Black people as laughingstock, caricature.
—
Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
The disastrous response to that icy gridlock turned Atlanta into a laughingstock and transformed how leaders prepare for severe weather.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Indiana University Hoosiers went from a college-football laughingstock to national champions.
—Clare Malone, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Ratings for this year’s playoff games have been up substantially, as fans gravitate to Indiana’s turnaround story from football laughingstock to CFP power.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laughingstock
Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
The disastrous response to that icy gridlock turned Atlanta into a laughingstock and transformed how leaders prepare for severe weather.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Indiana University Hoosiers went from a college-football laughingstock to national champions.
—Clare Malone, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Ratings for this year’s playoff games have been up substantially, as fans gravitate to Indiana’s turnaround story from football laughingstock to CFP power.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laughingstock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laughingstock
Noun
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No this is not a joke…Retro Weather Channel is officially back!—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
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The response to the outcry led to even more jokes online.—
Bennett Conlin,
Baltimore Sun,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Any one of 162 games is less a sample size than a glance, and fool’s gold is ever present.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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Don’t let the recent rain fool you.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laughingstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laughingstock. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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