japing

verb

present participle of jape
as in joking
to make jokes the characters in Oscar Wilde's plays jape with a readiness and sophistication that is rarely, if ever, encountered in real life

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for japing
  1. joking
  2. jesting
Verb
  • The Star Wars actor shared a photo of the newlyweds on Instagram on Sunday, July 5, while joking about his whereabouts on their special day.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
  • Following the convincing 3-0 victory over Czechia while resting some starters, the atmosphere on the Mexican team has been very relaxed, with several videos showing the players joking around with each other.
    — Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of joking
Verb
  • Mamdani has said nobody should throw snowballs at cops — jesting that the public should throw them at him instead — but does not see it as a criminal matter.
    — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • So much so that a cheeky George Clooney let loose a certain four-letter word while jesting about a fellow actor.
    — KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of jesting
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.

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japes
japing
jar
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Cite this Entry

“Japing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/japing. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on japing

Nglish: Translation of japing for Spanish Speakers

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