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
NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Bell and Brody are pros who can make cutesy banter in their sleep; with Konner and Kaplan at the helm, they’re now supported by fellow veterans savvy enough to keep out of their leads’ way.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025
The rule is simple: Everyone guesses and banters around who did what; the culprit drinks.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banter
Noun
Nobody Wants This is back for a second season, providing not only good banter, but some pretty deep questions about faith and compatibility.
—NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Bell and Brody are pros who can make cutesy banter in their sleep; with Konner and Kaplan at the helm, they’re now supported by fellow veterans savvy enough to keep out of their leads’ way.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
No, Tony and Ziva are not officially together, giving them room to banter again.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025
The rule is simple: Everyone guesses and banters around who did what; the culprit drinks.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banter
Noun
-
The comedy is a tonal mess, veering between underdeveloped jokes and unearned sentiment.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
-
How did Joy nearly die in the wilderness of Colorado, a place that, in a joke the film keeps repeating, is almost all white people?—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The movie has a brief mocking glimpse of MTV, just for a cheap laugh, when Springsteen is flipping channels between Badlands reruns.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Come to see Stone get her head shaved, stay for big laughs, darkly incisive commentary, and incredible performances from Stone, Plemons, and newcomer Aidan Delbis in this absurdist black comedy.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
-
How did Betty manage the scenes with Ophelia, with their bawdy repartee?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
-
No one is better built than Leavy, a crafty veteran sportswriter, for between-innings repartee, wry asides, and tossed-off ideas for improving her beloved sport—and maybe even keeping its ever-looming obsolescence at bay for another decade or three.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His keen playful writing combines magical realism, genre-busting humor, literary zip—and there are few people better suited to adapting Wilder than Ethan Lipton.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
With Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby leading the way, the sci-fi/disaster flick is full of humor, heart and high stakes, plus Julia Garner's Silver Surfer is a joy to behold riding all those good vibes.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There was a distinct set of tales dealing with demons who collected idle chatter in churches, and, over time, these stories were folded into the expanding legend of Tutivillus.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
-
This year, all eyes are on just three contests nationwide—and most of the chatter has centered on Zohran Mamdani’s meteoric mayoral run across the Hudson as a democratic socialist.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
30 Oct. 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 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share