as in laughing
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
Relevance
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 chortling
The nightingale flew around the fox’s head, the two of them chortling in their own indiscernible ways.
—
Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Against all of this allegedly heady stuff, the score—by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—intentionally jars us from encroaching drowsiness with chortling woodwinds and shardlike piano chords that are the aural equivalent of jagged Plexiglass off-cuts.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Against all of this allegedly heady stuff, the score—by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—intentionally jars us from encroaching drowsiness with chortling woodwinds and shardlike piano chords that are the aural equivalent of jagged Plexiglass off-cuts.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chortling
Verb
-
Her mother, Lianna Charles Moore, previously described her daughters as always laughing, smiling and brightening her family's day.—
Christina Fan,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Suddenly there was a film that had not been on anyone’s radar — a period comedy, laughing at something very much our own, and completely independent.—
Emiliano de Pablos,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
A couple giggling teens popped on and off that scale recently, pleased, apparently, by the reading.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
-
On the two days that THR spent on set last summer, the young cast could regularly be heard giggling in between takes.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
To be fair, Dylan is also engaging in some territorial behaviors, like chuckling about Greg’s affinity for nuts and lightly putting a hand on his arm, so keep an eye on that space.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In early February, Raphael Bostic sat on a stage chuckling, and a bit embarrassed, while his predecessor handed him a pair of gifts.—
Mirtha Donastorg,
AJC.com,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Brown voiced his frustrations with the Eagles’ passing offense during the regular season, then engaged in a screaming match with Sirianni during Philadelphia’s first-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Dashcam footage recently released by Staffordshire Police shows the teenagers screaming and asking Dawson, 50, to slow the car down.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chortling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chortling. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
