as in badinage
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
Luke had to put up with a lot of raillery from his sister the first time he asked a girl for a date
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of raillery
With time, their caustic raillery transforms into sincere attachment.
—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
13 May 2021
French’s evocation of place, a rural way of life and overall creepiness are superb, as is the dialogue, a festival of Irish raillery and repartee.
—
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation.
—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
13 July 2017
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
13 May 2021
French’s evocation of place, a rural way of life and overall creepiness are superb, as is the dialogue, a festival of Irish raillery and repartee.
—
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation.
—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
13 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raillery
Noun
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Left on their own, boisterous badinage between old school British thespian Shaw and giggly, hyper-ventilating wannabe movie star Dreyfuss has taken hold.
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The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.
Noun
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Steele’s portrayal of imperious, glamorous Tanya provides some of the show’s biggest laughs.
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What makes this such an exhilarating watch is how the performers navigate every passive-aggressive aside, every catty comment, every choice bit of annoying behavior played for laughs, pathos, or both at once.
Noun
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New Delhi — What started as an online joke has now spilled onto the streets of India’s capital.
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Jan Paul van Hecke, a center-back who saw action on all parts of the pitch by both defending and scoring a goal, praised how the field held up — while also making a joke.
Noun
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Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.
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No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.
Noun
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Meanwhile, sitcoms like Friends marked a movement toward irony in comedy with its trademark tongue-in-cheek banter and sarcasm, Thompson explains.
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Relationships could feel expressive, dramatic or oddly revealing today, but beneath the banter is a deeper question about emotional security.
Noun
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None of this will keep Republicans and conservatives from attacking the reconciliation bill with smoke, mirrors and persiflage.
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As Nixon’s political strategist, Kevin Phillips, told the New York Times in 1970: All the talk about Republicans making inroads into the Negro vote is persiflage.
Noun
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Things seem to be going well; Lord Walder accepts Robb’s apology with cantankerous humor, and offers the Starks his full hospitality for the duration of the wedding.
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Framed as a feel-good drama with heart and humor, the series pairs a distinctly offbeat legal premise with a heavyweight creative package led by Weaving.
Noun
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The two-minute trailer includes a recreation of the famous sailor-kissing-a-nurse photo from V-J Day, a woman insulting David’s butter churning, some trench warfare repartee about the looks of a soldier’s love back at home, the Boston Tea Party, and jokes about child labor.
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That’s welcome repartee at any age, much less at Fangio’s 67.
Cite this Entry
“Raillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raillery. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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