as in yammering
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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
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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
-
Thomas, for all his proprietary yammering about his young wards, turns out to have fatally underestimated them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But ultimately, it's created a lot of yammering and once everyone went to video and once old school mainstream show business started to collapse in on itself, people were really able through bubbles and tribalization, able to build their own show business empires.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
First, as the Florida ACLU’s Howard Simon points out, Uthmeier is not scolding another branch of government.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Security guard Pascal Duvier, most recently infamous for allegedly scolding 11-year-old Ada Law at a hotel in São Paulo, is clearing the air.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Then, almost two years into the investigation, Langston stopped by the police station and was chatting with a different administrator, who asked Langston whether the initial search had also been conducted in an older database that not everybody on staff knew about.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
When chatting at the Future 50 last summer, Green spoke for more than 12 minutes about his top schools and did not mention Georgia until the program was brought up.—
Jeff Sentell,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The cruel cartoon of a constantly shrewish, venal, and disloyal Mary began cementing itself in the public mind when William Herndon, Lincoln’s Springfield law partner, started lecturing about his reminiscences within months of the President’s murder.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
At Yale, where Garber began her career, Jacques Derrida was a frequent visitor, and Paul de Man might be found down the corridor solemnly lecturing on Nietzsche.—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The straight-talking Benatia, who became sporting director in January 2025 after previously working for the club in an advisory role, fit a similar mould.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Riley was equally at ease when talking with the dentist, listening patiently as the man described his fancy new house in a gentrified area.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
There is chatter that Otto at least attempted to die by suicide.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 May 2026
-
So, yes, there likely will be chatter in that regard should the Cavaliers fall short with their current build.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
If something’s not done as far as reprimanding, what will that do to him as a student?—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Hart was reprimanding Ross for doing what is the most offensive thing a comedian can do — suck up to the most important person in the room — and enforcing an old ethic in comedy, which is not apologizing for your jokes.—
Robert Lynch,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On her last day in Reggio Emilia, Middleton visited with schoolchildren in the woods—even sitting in the grass and sharing stories of her own kids while conversing with the students.—
Stefania Saltalamacchia,
Vanity Fair,
15 May 2026
-
On April 30, the TikTok star, 25, and the Houston Texans wide receiver, 30, were spotted conversing at the Sports Illustrated x Authentic Brands Group party at The Surf Club Restaurant in Miami.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jawing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jawing. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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