as in chuckle
an explosive sound that is a sign of amusement
the joke provoked a sudden chortle from a bystander
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to laugh
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
audiences might chortle gently during the movie's amusing bits, but there are few knee-slappers
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 chortle
Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 May 2025
On the 101 in my bumper-car Prius, there’s one billboard that invariably gets a chortle out of me.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
Chris McMullen, Space.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Take a look at the other top 10 nonfinancial S & P 500 stocks by forward price-to-sales ratio: Calling all value investors (chortle): Nvidia trades at a relatively tame 15 forward price-to-sales ratio.
—John Melloy,christopher Hayes, CNBC, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chortle
Noun
Yoda made a slight sound of dissatisfaction, a grumbling chortle.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 May 2025
On the 101 in my bumper-car Prius, there’s one billboard that invariably gets a chortle out of me.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
Verb
There were no knowing winks to the camera, no pause for an unseen audience to chortle at Stan's misfortune.
—Chris McMullen, Space.com, 2 Aug. 2025
Take a look at the other top 10 nonfinancial S & P 500 stocks by forward price-to-sales ratio: Calling all value investors (chortle): Nvidia trades at a relatively tame 15 forward price-to-sales ratio.
—John Melloy,christopher Hayes, CNBC, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chortle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chortle
Noun
-
Fatone tells The Hollywood Reporter with a chuckle at the top of our Zoom conversation when asked about the timing.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Something between a chuckle and a leer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The crowd laughed, and the Parenthood actor noted that people intervened and broke up the fight.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Roberts laughed, but the twinkle in his eye was genuine.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But for all the success and laughter in his life, it was shadowed by dark clouds.—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
If your coping mechanism for tough times is laughter, then this is the list for you.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When the officer began to dance, the women screamed and giggled.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
-
A couple giggling teens popped on and off that scale recently, pleased, apparently, by the reading.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The dialogue is overladen with snicker-worthy cliches, a swelling, melodramatic soundtrack that doesn’t match the mood, dubious cameos and plastic, perfunctory life-affirming quotes.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The event also had free opportunities to take photos, get ice cream snickers and have earned a Super Bowl post card.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
Updated February 5,
Sacbee.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chortle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chortle. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
