: 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
Sean Gentille, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Murphy, in the lead-up to the series, made a tongue-in-cheek remark about having to face the dominant Japanese closer.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
The game has been viewed as a tongue in cheek critique of military dictatorships, with references to fascism and colonialism.
—Dan Gooding
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
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Adjective
While a lot of today’s blurbs are tongue-in-cheek, this one unequivocally isn’t.
—Sean Gentille, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Murphy, in the lead-up to the series, made a tongue-in-cheek remark about having to face the dominant Japanese closer.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Adverb
Shanahan, tongue in cheek, suggested the 49ers would never be involved in stealing signs.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
The game has been viewed as a tongue in cheek critique of military dictatorships, with references to fascism and colonialism.
—Dan Gooding
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
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 22 Oct. 2025.
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