: characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
: with insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
Examples of tongue-in-cheek in a Sentence
Adverb
The whole interview was done tongue in cheek.
Recent Examples on the Web
Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026
Deep in the woods in the Upper Peninsula near Paradise, a local woman offers up hot dogs with a friendly smile and tongue-in-cheek humor to snowmobilers needing respite.
—Free Press Staff, Freep.com, 5 Mar. 2026
Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
It’s being conceived as a PG-13 with tongue in cheek, per the movie’s meta title.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
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Adjective
Diner’s by Upscale Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii The name is a little tongue-in-cheek.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026
Deep in the woods in the Upper Peninsula near Paradise, a local woman offers up hot dogs with a friendly smile and tongue-in-cheek humor to snowmobilers needing respite.
—Free Press Staff, Freep.com, 5 Mar. 2026
Adverb
The work is light and dark, solid and liquid, empty and busy, earnest and tongue in cheek.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
It’s being conceived as a PG-13 with tongue in cheek, per the movie’s meta title.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
Cite this Entry
“Tongue-in-cheek.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tongue-in-cheek. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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