as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
friends had left the risqué message on his voice mail as a practical joke
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Recent Examples of practical joke
His favorite thing to do was to pull practical jokes on our manager, Blake.
—
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 19 July 2024
Baseball players are notorious for playing practical jokes on one another.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
His latest film is a feature-length practical joke that centers around a false origin story for a 42-year-old song whose relevance only fades with each passing year.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 26 Sep. 2024
Dogs shot for no reason (and then used as props for gruesome practical jokes by the EMTs).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 19 July 2024
Baseball players are notorious for playing practical jokes on one another.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
His latest film is a feature-length practical joke that centers around a false origin story for a 42-year-old song whose relevance only fades with each passing year.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 26 Sep. 2024
Dogs shot for no reason (and then used as props for gruesome practical jokes by the EMTs).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for practical joke
Noun
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Keith may have been trying to communicate resentment or exert control through his pranks.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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Fagan, who died in 1969, wrote about his prank repeatedly in his column, which was called Mill Ends—named for the bits and pieces of wood left over at a lumber mill.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This chip also drives many of the phone's artificial intelligence features, and allows the Pixel 9a to take advantage of all the same AI camera tricks introduced on the Pixel 9 smartphones in 2024.—
Julian Chokkattu,
WIRED,
19 Mar. 2025
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In situations like these, when your go-to scrubs and sprays just aren’t doing the trick, look to your shower for an answer.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Add in Unai Emery’s experience in Europe, and Villa will fancy their chances against most teams, including likely quarter-final opponents Liverpool (who could only draw 2-2 at Villa Park last month).—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
The Athletic,
11 Mar. 2025
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To use the newest experience of Facebook, switch to a supported browser.—
facebook.com,
facebook.com,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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New Zealand was beyond incredible and Princess made sure every guest got to experience it in their own way, whether that meant adventure, sightseeing or a combination of both.—
Lois Alter Mark,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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His hobbies include reading, listening to music and going on long, winding adventures on his road bike.—
Thomas Saccente,
arkansasonline.com,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Practical joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/practical%20joke. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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