as in chuckle
an explosive sound that is a sign of amusement
the joke provoked a sudden chortle from a bystander
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chortle
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2011
When the book said that someone laughed, Miles offered the engineer a giggle, a chortle, and a cackle; when a character steepled their fingers, Miles did, too.
—Daniel A. Gross, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2022
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 May 2024
Her son had often suggested that the Investigative Committee investigate itself and chortled at the absurdity.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chortle
Noun
The comment evoked a chortle from Prasher, whose typical manner combines irony and earthiness.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2011
When the book said that someone laughed, Miles offered the engineer a giggle, a chortle, and a cackle; when a character steepled their fingers, Miles did, too.
—Daniel A. Gross, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2022
Verb
So skeptics may chortle at do-gooder liberals’ NIMBY uproar as being hoisted on their own petards, so to speak.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 May 2024
Her son had often suggested that the Investigative Committee investigate itself and chortled at the absurdity.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chortle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chortle
Verb
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Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2025
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The two cracked up laughing, and not about how Ohtani was swinging the bat.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Scheduled to hit Seattle as a one-night-only event, the online bromance between Shatner and Tyson in McCaw Hall promises an evening of big questions, bold ideas, and plenty of laughter, all centered around our place within the universe.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
14 June 2025
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Even so, some of Lucy’s pronouncements are so truly awful that a blunt snort of laughter is the only response.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Dropping catches and mis-fielding were not things to be giggled at.—
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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Here, visitors with otherwise short attention spans may gaze at the watery offerings for hours, giggling at the antics of Atlantic puffins, gasping at the sight of blacktip reef sharks and basking in the biodiversity of the 13,000 organisms that have captivated crowds for 44 years.—
Mike Klingaman,
Baltimore Sun,
17 June 2025
Noun
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League sources stifle their snickers in public while privately marveling at the owner’s ceaseless stupidity. 3.—
Jeff Howe,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
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So he must be placed in the Apparition section, next to ghosts like John Barron, sharing a snicker with Ivana.—
Greg Marotta,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The only Amazon series that has come close to Clarkson’s Farm is LOL: Last One Laughing UK, which chuckled along with audiences of up to 3.1M earlier this year.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
7 June 2025
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When asked if he often gets recognized in public, the singer-songwriter chuckled.—
Fidel Martinez,
Los Angeles Times,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chortle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chortle. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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