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
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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
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Conversation starters → One Hollywood actor's in-flight rant has travelers laughing — and arguing — all over again.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
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The Eagles posted a video on the night of the trade of Hurts and Brown on a FaceTime call with each other, laughing uncontrollably.—
Saad Yousuf,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Flashlight tag is an oldie but goodie and will have parents giggling like schoolgirls along with their kids.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2026
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Total strangers giggling about his addiction to drugs.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
Verb
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Baffert watched it all on his laptop from California, chuckling as the board showing the horse’s price flaked out momentarily.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
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Flying cows, fiddle-playing cats, and chuckling retrievers inhabit the space between ornate columns.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And watching the videos of the people jumping out of their chairs, screaming, cheering was so cool.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2026
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An exasperated Tomás enters the thicket himself to retrieve, among other items, Liam’s boot, and doesn’t emerge until the next day—not screaming, but fundamentally changed.—
Nora Biette-Timmons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chortling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chortling. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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