as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
members of the Algonquin Round Table were known for their brilliant and witty banter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to joke
to make jokes
the teacher bantered pleasantly, albeit a bit awkwardly, with the students at the school dance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of banter
Lisa Stardust, People.com, 18 June 2025
The script could stand to lose some of its conventional banter.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2025
The Friends idly bantered, arranged themselves into couples, and got married.
—Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for banter
Noun
Woody the sheriff and Buzz Lightyear will be back, sparking up our hearts with more fun for Fire signs who love adventure, Earth signs who appreciate the sentimentality, Air signs who laugh at the banter and Water signs who believe in fantasy.
—Lisa Stardust, People.com, 18 June 2025
The script could stand to lose some of its conventional banter.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
Verb
As the parent of young children in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a phrase bantered around that was meant to keep children safe.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2025
The Friends idly bantered, arranged themselves into couples, and got married.
—Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for banter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banter
Noun
-
And beyond the viral jokes littering Palmer’s comments are thousands of seemingly serious comments calling her video just an example of how leaning into feminine roles can be self care.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
-
The jokes about alligators attacking immigrants while in detention have been casually tossed around by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative and far-right influencers.—
Raisa Habersham,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
During the day out, the two took a dip in the pool and appeared to share laughs throughout the day.—
Starr Bowenbank,
People.com,
11 July 2025
-
The two had several tough plays against one another, and shared plenty of laughs on the court.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
-
In The Kitchen, Wesker tracked the decorum from friendly badinage to hostile vernacular that co-workers sustain just to get through the day.—
Armond White,
National Review,
30 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Balki and cousin Larry slipped right into their old repartee from the beloved ABC sitcom.—
Ryan Coleman Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
-
His brother Richard Rosenthal is Somebody Feed Phil’s executive producer and showrunner; their on-camera repartee is a golden fan-favorite.—
Laura Manske,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
Clarkson delivered with her trademark blend of down-to-Earth humor and out-of-this-world vocals.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
-
After all the fussing and fidgeting exerted in trying to nail just the right mix of comic book action, comedy and pathos, the movie emerges as a tone-deaf mishmash of underdeveloped characters, half-baked humor and unhatched plotting drenched in CGI overkill.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
There was the usual chatter about 'whether to rest the starters or not', but they good guys weren't going to lay down and hand those cocky Patriots a 16-0 record.—
Geoffrey Knox,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
-
If the enthusiasm for the F1 flick may have helped rev up ESPN2’s British Grand Prix deliveries—the July 6 race, won by McLaren’s Lando Norris, averaged 1.5 million viewers, up 19% versus the year-ago telecast—Cue’s offer may well supersede any chatter about linear TV ratings.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
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,
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Noun
-
None of this will keep Republicans and conservatives from attacking the reconciliation bill with smoke, mirrors and persiflage.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Aug. 2022
-
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.—
Jane Coaston,
Vox,
12 Oct. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Banter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banter. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share