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
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 at one another near the French net.
—Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
Minutes later, Wilson and Crinon were jawing near France’s net.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026
Embiid grabbed nine rebounds, made four 3-pointers and was 11 of 13 on free throws, all while jawing for much of the game with Suns forward Dillon Brooks.
—CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Green defended Towns on many of those possessions, and the two were seen jawing with one another after the Warriors handed the Knicks their seventh loss in their past nine games at the Chase Center on Thursday.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 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
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 at one another near the French net.
—Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
Minutes later, Wilson and Crinon were jawing near France’s net.
—Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026
Embiid grabbed nine rebounds, made four 3-pointers and was 11 of 13 on free throws, all while jawing for much of the game with Suns forward Dillon Brooks.
—CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
Green defended Towns on many of those possessions, and the two were seen jawing with one another after the Warriors handed the Knicks their seventh loss in their past nine games at the Chase Center on Thursday.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 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
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What looked at first to be a repeat of a recent sketch about wine-drinking wives chatting in the kitchen and playing truth or dare instead pivoted to a scene about husbands stuck together in a den with nothing to talk about.—
Omar L. Gallaga,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Flay first revealed that girlfriend Williamson would be stepping into a new role while chatting with PEOPLE at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) in February.—
Erin Clements,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Therefore, now is not the time to be lecturing our partners and allies.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
3 Mar. 2026
-
That includes lecturing, building curriculum, pursuing research and speaking about university policy.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons is the person talking to the astronauts today from inside Mission Control.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Caminero comes through Cash and radio broadcaster Andy Freed were talking before the game about when Junior Caminero would erase the zero in his home run column.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Those big tires with big sidewalls soak up a lot of the road chatter before the suspension even starts suspending.—
Joe Salas
April 07,
New Atlas,
7 Apr. 2026
-
August 23 – September 22 Clarity lands where chatter once created noise.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Indeed, Ye didn’t say much of anything during the two-hour concert beyond a number of reprimanding comments directed at his stage crew.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Organize comfortable chairs and decorative throws to create a cozy spot for conversing around the fire.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Set on a remote Scottish island, the film follows siblings Isla (Rankin) and Sandy (O’Rourke), who spend their days hunting birds, conversing with mythical beings, and fiercely fending off outsiders.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jawing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jawing. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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