as in yammering
Related Words
Relevance
1
as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
you don't have to jaw me to death just because I bite my nails
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chatting
to engage in casual or rambling conversation
just a group of girls sitting around the locker room and jawing about the usual stuff
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 jawing
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
The two players had been going at each other throughout the game, with multiple videos capturing the two jawing at each other.
—
Matt Schubert,
New York Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Later came the jawing, with Kelsey Plum, with Natasha Cloud.
—
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass.
—
Dan Gelston,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
There was some pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, and officials threw six flags as the chaos ensued.
—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, there was an undercurrent of malevolence coming from the Sabres’ Mason Geertsen (6-foot-5, 231 pounds), who got into a couple of jawing matches with 6-foot-7, 255-pound Nikita Zadorov, but nothing came of it.
—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
Despite some discouraging downward trends, all the prefatory jawing could go a long way toward siphoning off a fair number of viewers who might otherwise be locked in on the NFL.
—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
25 Sep. 2025
All of the jawing between the two teams resulted in Jimmy and Jey challenging Reed and Breakker to a tag team match for Wrestlepalooza.
—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Matt Reigle Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
After Hawks center Tony Bradley was called for an offensive foul for setting a hard screen on Alvarado, the veteran McCollum got into it with the scrappy Knicks guard, jawing face-to-face in a moment that underscored the growing chippiness in the series.
—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Men’s coaches yelling, jawing, getting in each other’s faces.
—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
In the closing seconds of the first, Pierre-Luc Dubois rammed Travis Sanheim just in front of the Flyers bench, Zegras came flying in to defend him, and a scrum ensued that included Wilson and Travis Konecny pushing and shoving and jawing with one another.
—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Hawkins joked that Heckel is usually the instigator of any trash talk between them, but there hasn’t been much jawing ahead of Monday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game.
—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
The tongue-in-cheek beef culminated in a verbal volley at the flag football draft with Gronkowski jawing at Paul while balancing a paper plate stacked with hors d’oeuvres and Paul shouting back over the head of 5-foot-5 comedian Kevin Hart, who somehow found himself in the role of peacemaker.
—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Baker-Mazara dribbled into consecutive 3-point shots, jawing with the UCLA student section while running back on defense.
—
Aaron Heisen,
Oc Register,
25 Feb. 2026
Minutes later, Wilson and Crinon were jawing near France’s net.
—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
Another clip showed Brown jawing toward Sirianni and being held back by his teammates.
—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
The two players had been going at each other throughout the game, with multiple videos capturing the two jawing at each other.
—
Matt Schubert,
New York Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Later came the jawing, with Kelsey Plum, with Natasha Cloud.
—
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass.
—
Dan Gelston,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
There was some pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, and officials threw six flags as the chaos ensued.
—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, there was an undercurrent of malevolence coming from the Sabres’ Mason Geertsen (6-foot-5, 231 pounds), who got into a couple of jawing matches with 6-foot-7, 255-pound Nikita Zadorov, but nothing came of it.
—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
Despite some discouraging downward trends, all the prefatory jawing could go a long way toward siphoning off a fair number of viewers who might otherwise be locked in on the NFL.
—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
25 Sep. 2025
All of the jawing between the two teams resulted in Jimmy and Jey challenging Reed and Breakker to a tag team match for Wrestlepalooza.
—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
Want to cover your mouth while jawing with an opponent?
—
Matt Reigle Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
After Hawks center Tony Bradley was called for an offensive foul for setting a hard screen on Alvarado, the veteran McCollum got into it with the scrappy Knicks guard, jawing face-to-face in a moment that underscored the growing chippiness in the series.
—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Men’s coaches yelling, jawing, getting in each other’s faces.
—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Apr. 2026
In the closing seconds of the first, Pierre-Luc Dubois rammed Travis Sanheim just in front of the Flyers bench, Zegras came flying in to defend him, and a scrum ensued that included Wilson and Travis Konecny pushing and shoving and jawing with one another.
—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Hawkins joked that Heckel is usually the instigator of any trash talk between them, but there hasn’t been much jawing ahead of Monday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game.
—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
The tongue-in-cheek beef culminated in a verbal volley at the flag football draft with Gronkowski jawing at Paul while balancing a paper plate stacked with hors d’oeuvres and Paul shouting back over the head of 5-foot-5 comedian Kevin Hart, who somehow found himself in the role of peacemaker.
—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Baker-Mazara dribbled into consecutive 3-point shots, jawing with the UCLA student section while running back on defense.
—
Aaron Heisen,
Oc Register,
25 Feb. 2026
Minutes later, Wilson and Crinon were jawing near France’s net.
—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jawing
Noun
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.
-
Thomas, for all his proprietary yammering about his young wards, turns out to have fatally underestimated them.
Verb
-
This ancient poem isn’t interested in scolding women for their sexuality, but in the establishment of honor in the elite household.
-
The princess hilariously put her little brother in his place by scolding him.
Verb
-
While chatting with Craig Melvin during a June 19 appearance on the Today show, the TV icon paused her interview to smack the anchor after a bold request.
-
Within minutes, the men, who ranged in age from 30 to 60, began chatting among themselves.
Noun
-
In the last year or two, there was chatter and debate whether Messi would actually be selected to join the national team again.
-
If circumstances had gone Spain’s way with more clinical finishing or a Cape Verde defender making a mistake, then the result would have been different and a lot of the chatter currently happening (including here) would likely not be happening.
Verb
-
College professors spend less time lecturing than a typical sportswriter creating fake controversies to criticize.
-
If and until that day comes, there will be fingerpointing, lecturing and posturing, all of which has flowed freely in the wake of the Sorsby decision.
Verb
-
Seconds later, Hines-Allen decided she was done talking and shoved Bonner.
-
If your medication is affected, consider talking to your doctor or pharmacist to determine the best course of action.
Noun
-
Some children clustered there to jabber and run madly about, while others just wanted attention and knew how to get it.
-
And given that these are not professional actors, or even (in most cases) people who aspire to be, LaBeouf’s words to them, full of deadly serious jabber about empathy and ego, are pumped up with an intensity that feels overdone and inappropriate.
Verb
-
Earlier this week, Scott Agness claimed his press credentials were revoked by the team after his reporting led to the WNBA reprimanding the Fever for not being transparent about Clark’s health status during a game on May 20.
-
If something’s not done as far as reprimanding, what will that do to him as a student?
Cite this Entry
“Jawing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jawing. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
