jiving

verb

present participle of jive
1
as in kidding
to make fun of in a good-natured way don't be upset—we're just jiving you

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in joking
to make jokes our team was laughing and jiving after our surprise win

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 jiving There’s no games, no shucking and jiving, everybody is really bringing their A-game. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jiving
  1. kidding
  2. joking
  3. teasing
Verb
  • But Guthrie wasn’t kidding, slipping into a yellow gingham dress before joining her co-hosts on the Today Show Plaza to greet visitors.
    — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
  • Just kidding, but seeing Angela’s team sweep Shamea’s at the Bailey Bowl basketball tournament was almost as satisfying as knowing Charles got to witness his former team’s historic win in person.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 22 June 2026
Definition of kidding
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
  • After teasing us for a while, Volvo finally showed off the EX30 for real in 2023.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026
  • Nike has been teasing its forthcoming partnership with the German team throughout this World Cup.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of teasing

Browse Nearby Words

jives
jiving
job
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on jiving

Nglish: Translation of jiving for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All