cracked up

verb

past tense of crack up
1
as in applauded
to declare enthusiastic approval of that sports car isn't all it's cracked up to be

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in announced
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively the movie is being cracked up as the blockbuster of the summer

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in laughed
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound try not to crack up at your own punch lines—it's funnier if you keep a straight face

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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 cracked up Is tofu all it's cracked up to be? — Sam Woodward, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026 Wondering if the talk about using eggshells in your garden is all it's cracked up to be? — Lauren David, Southern Living, 24 Apr. 2026 And leftovers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, especially after multiple days on repeat. — Sheela Prakash, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 July 2026 Leslie Jones once cracked up everyone at Saturday Night Live, including the top dog of the show. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025 One room cracked up at a vulgar joke about a woman’s behind, while another went for an outrageous and surreal midfilm montage — but each bit was made genuinely funnier by the dozens of people gasping and wheezing over it. — Robert Rubsam, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025 Original castmembers Richard Kline and Priscilla Barnes also cracked up the crowd, reprising their roles as nurse Teri and lovable lech Larry. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cracked up
  1. applauded
  2. announced
  3. laughed
  4. praised
  5. advertised
  6. giggled
  7. hailed
  8. blew up
Verb
  • Ramos and other tribal leaders applauded that step and this year, Ramos is advancing a bill to issue a similar apology on behalf of the Legislature.
    — Andrew Graham July 8, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
  • The series has been applauded for its mix of drama, comedy and strangeness in its portrait of a woman coming to terms to what seems like an impossible dilemma.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of applauded
Verb
  • The heat has become so unbearable in Japan that weather officials in April announced a new term for days when maximum temperatures exceed 104 degrees — kokushobi, meaning harsh or cruel heat, according to the Japan Times.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Harry last saw his father in February 2024, shortly after it was announced that the monarch was undergoing treatment for cancer, though the palace never specified the type.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 6 July 2026
Definition of announced
Verb
  • There was an exhilarating ease as people talked, laughed, and flirted freely.
    — Lilian T. Mehrel, IndieWire, 7 July 2026
  • Their Ballon d’Or-winning winger Ousmane Dembele had the ball in his hands, a decoy to avoid unwanted attention on the actual taker Mbappe, and Dembele quite literally laughed in the face of the petulant Velazquez.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of laughed
Verb
  • Councilman Jimmy Inman also praised the late man in an emotional Facebook post.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
  • McMahon praised Wagner for complying with federal guidelines in a DOE press release.
    — Elijah Polance, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
Definition of praised
Verb
  • Police investigators identified the location after police received information about fireworks being advertised on social media.
    — Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 July 2026
  • Members of white government clubs hassled their white neighbors into political lockstep and advertised physical and financial retribution for any Black person who dared to vote.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
Definition of advertised
Verb
  • Willis sang as their children—14-year-old Mabel Ray and 12-year-old Evelyn Penn—giggled in the background.
    — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 18 June 2026
  • The couple giggled between kisses and lounged on a red-and-white picnic blanket while overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
Definition of giggled
Verb
  • The new 6th Street Bridge, hailed as a civic landmark just steps away, was promptly stripped of its wiring by vandals and now sits pitch black at night.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • Nix has a new play-caller in Davis Webb, which is being largely hailed as a good thing, including by head coach Sean Payton himself.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 6 July 2026
Definition of hailed
Verb
  • But Blue Origin’s rocket blew up in dramatic fashion during an engine test last month, damaging its launch pad and raising questions about its ability to meet NASA’s timeline.
    — Denise Chow, NBC news, 30 June 2026
  • One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 June 2026
Definition of blew up

Browse Nearby Words

cracked (on)
cracked up
cracked wise
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Cite this Entry

“Cracked up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cracked%20up. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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