as in flippant
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Recent Examples of tongue-in-cheek
Her lyrics are personal, introspective, and often a little tongue-in-cheek.
—
Carolina Abbott Galvão, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2025
He’s best known for playing deadpan game show hosts and offering tongue-in-cheek Weekend Update monologues about topics like getting a Real ID and a potential TikTok ban.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025
The trademark application appears to be a tongue-in-cheek call-out about accusations that the former cheerleader is only in the relationship for money.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 27 Aug. 2025
In charming videos, the digital campaign will include a fresh reinterpretation of Karl Interviews Karl (the tongue-in-cheek video series where Karl Lagerfeld interviewed himself) that adds a touch of comedy and wonder that references Lagerfeld’s famous wit as well as various social media moments.
—Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
Carolina Abbott Galvão, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2025
He’s best known for playing deadpan game show hosts and offering tongue-in-cheek Weekend Update monologues about topics like getting a Real ID and a potential TikTok ban.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025
The trademark application appears to be a tongue-in-cheek call-out about accusations that the former cheerleader is only in the relationship for money.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 27 Aug. 2025
In charming videos, the digital campaign will include a fresh reinterpretation of Karl Interviews Karl (the tongue-in-cheek video series where Karl Lagerfeld interviewed himself) that adds a touch of comedy and wonder that references Lagerfeld’s famous wit as well as various social media moments.
—Roxanne Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-in-cheek
Adjective
-
That might seem a bit flippant, but LIHTC projects are glitzy, new, and often incorporate all sorts of bells and whistles.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Where internet trolls often come off as flippant or spiteful, there is a relentless sense of play and mastery of language in even McNally’s most needling posts.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Huff had one quarterback pressure Sunday (being facetious).—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
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This sounds facetious but is not at all.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Will those same places later serve as ironic backdrops for bloody shootouts?—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
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The line is calculated to appeal to a clientele of women rather like Freud herself—bohemian, elegant, subtle, ironical.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The subtlety of Akerman’s concept and the wry tenderness of her approach are, however, merely a start.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
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The movie is a wry look at the petty foibles of life, the fears and neuroses that can impede a person’s path to fulfillment and enlightenment.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Nicole Kidman adds just the right amount of menace as a villainous taxidermist, but the heart of the movie lies in its celebration of kindness, decency and family—values that feel refreshingly radical in our cynical times.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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And there is often an expectation of escapism in romance that precludes dealing realistically with money — or, for big media blockbusters, a cynical assumption that audiences won't enjoy a romcom which also takes the logistics of life seriously.—
Chelsea Fagan,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
After you’re finished cleaning, rinse with water and dry with a microfiber cloth.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
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Primary bathrooms, where hair and buildup from products like dry shampoo can leave floors a mess, are another high-traffic area of the house that can benefit from regular sweeping.—
Jolie Kerr,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
One of the most poignant choices is to intercut scratchy film of the train that in 1921 transported the Unknown Soldier to Rome in a coffin draped with patriotic banners and flowers, to be enshrined in the Altar of the Fatherland with an eternal flame at the Vittorio Emanuele II monument.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Pitted against the unforgettably evil Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), a sadist who drugs and abuses the unlucky patients in her care, McMurphy’s stand against the oppressive powers that be is tragic and poignant and spoke to the spirit of a time in which so many felt misunderstood.—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Still, people are allowed to form their own opinions and have their own preferences — and that shouldn’t come with vitriolic attacks on social media.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
27 Aug. 2025
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Reaching consensus on the approach that will work best to meet the short and long-term needs of poor families means everyone must move away from absolutist positions, and discussions concerning the issue must be comprehensive, open and honest rather than accusatory and vitriolic.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tongue-in-cheek.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-in-cheek. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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