cackles 1 of 2

noun

plural of cackle
as in chuckles
an explosive sound that is a sign of amusement erupted in a high-pitched cackle at the absurdity of the suggestion

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cackles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of cackle
1
as in chats
to engage in casual or rambling conversation a group of old friends who met regularly to laugh and cackle about their glory days

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in laughs
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound she cackled with glee when her tax-evading neighbor finally got caught

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 cackles
Noun
Her performance presents as camp, but her dynamic range of loud cackles and quiet glances is fabulous. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 One minute later, cackles rippled through my eardrums at a higher decibel than before. — Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026 As evening falls, the clink of pints and bursts of cackles spill from Pat Collins Pub—where locals swap stories to the rhythm of fiddle tunes beneath an Irish twilight. — Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
Aegon cackles with glee as Tyland ducks to the ground and his enemies snap, crackle, pop in the night. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026 SpongeBob cackles on a television lodged behind shatterproof glass. — Ashley Andreou, STAT, 22 June 2026 Kōnane cackles with the frayed voice of a centuries-old elder. — Matt Negrin, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2025 But her signature cackles always give up the game. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cackles
  1. chuckles
  2. chats
  3. laughs
  4. giggles
  5. talks
  6. screams
  7. snickers
  8. converses
Noun
  • Brian Leonard’s smartly funny ode to his difficult daughter — a child whose behavior was so problematic, the family cycled through 28 therapists — offers plenty of chuckles, even with key questions left unanswered.
    — Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The risk, though, with horror-comedy—with dinging from chuckles to shrieks and back again—is always an evacuated center.
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of chuckles
Verb
  • Shuenemeyer regularly chats with other arborists from Maine to Washington, looking to identify and catalog historic varieties of apples.
    — Kevin Strong, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Some of the German Telegram chats date back to at least 2020, court documents show.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
Definition of chats
Verb
  • The rest of the video cuts to the pro getting his shaggy platinum blonde hair snipped and shaved down to a shorter look by the reality star, who laughs multiple times while taking charge of Appleton’s transformation.
    — Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The friend laughs and dips her head toward her hand on the bar in delight.
    — Liz Johnson, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Definition of laughs
Noun
  • Meanwhile, donning night-vision giggles, Knoxville gleefully attacks them with trash can lids and tasers.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Keira Knightley is all giggles at day 12 of the 2026 Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 10.
    — People Staff, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
Definition of giggles
Verb
  • Patrick, who talks regularly with Ford and Moore, agreed, saying that is not just how a governor does the job, but how a candidate wins it in the first place.
    — Steven Sloan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Below, Temple talks with Vanity Fair about returning to Ted Lasso, her punk rock upbringing, her friendship with Hannah Waddingham, and her relationship with cigarettes.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of talks
Verb
  • The audience screams in response, and Scovel scolds them again but this time with a smile.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Witness accounts describe chaotic scene In the video, as many as five officers can be seen, and shrieks, screams, and cries are heard.
    — Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of screams
Noun
  • As executed, the 2019 show is an emotional yet refreshingly unsentimental black comedy that snickers in the face of empowerment buzzwords like, well, healing journey.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
  • There were snickers from some of the other students, including a tall and lank-haired kid whose name Adele didn’t know.
    — Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of snickers
Verb
  • Entire product categories that were barely imaginable in 2020 are now weekend projects such as a tutor that converses in Mandarin, a paralegal that drafts and redlines, and a designer that produces forty variations before lunch.
    — Michael Wee, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Epstein converses with Summers Larry Summers, Clinton’s Treasury secretary and the director of the National Economic Council under former President Obama, corresponded with Epstein numerous times via email.
    — Max Rego, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2025
Definition of converses

Browse Nearby Words

cacklers
cackles
cackling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cackles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cackles. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on cackles

Nglish: Translation of cackles for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of divulge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All