1
as in comedian
a person (as a writer) noted for or specializing in humor
he's the joker of the family, always making us laugh
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2
as in clown
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
just ignore that joker and his rude comments
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in hitch
a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized
read the contract carefully before signing to make sure there aren't any jokers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of joker
Students are required to bring two full decks of cards including the jokers.
—
Kris Slugg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
Mas, though, does have a joker in his deck.
—Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Kenneth’s father Sven invented the joker lap, while the power couple’s two sons, Timmy and Kevin, are both accomplished offroad racers.
—James Morris, Forbes.com, 3 Jan. 2026
So Porter is now the guy the State Police have supposedly doing a deep dive on the clowns, grifters and assorted gender-bending jokers that Maura Healey hands six-figure hack sinecures to — judicial nominees, college presidents, the heads of the veterans’ homes, etc.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joker
Kris Slugg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
Mas, though, does have a joker in his deck.
—Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Kenneth’s father Sven invented the joker lap, while the power couple’s two sons, Timmy and Kevin, are both accomplished offroad racers.
—James Morris, Forbes.com, 3 Jan. 2026
So Porter is now the guy the State Police have supposedly doing a deep dive on the clowns, grifters and assorted gender-bending jokers that Maura Healey hands six-figure hack sinecures to — judicial nominees, college presidents, the heads of the veterans’ homes, etc.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joker
Noun
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But the stand-up comedian’s big-screen experiment is a bust.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
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The one-liners, which Foxworthy began cracking in the late 1980s, helped propel the comedian to mainstream stardom in the 90s.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
Noun
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The final Scary Movie trailer opens with a fittingly grotesque send-up of Terrifier, the ultra-bloody, low-budget clown slasher that's built a cult following.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
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What appears to be a Unitree G1 humanoid robot wearing a blue clown wig can be seen confidently executing a roundhouse kick — squarely in the stomach of a young child in the audience, causing the kid to double over in pain.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Take Danielle, for instance, who dated Robert and a number of guys who barely appeared during her time on the show.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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In the past few months you guys have been all over both social and traditional media.—
Carita Rizzo,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
Noun
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Things do not go down without a hitch, despite Hollis’s exceptional menu planning and hosting abilities.—
Alessandra Codinha,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
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Legal glitches and hitches will eventually be found when AI laws are passed without suitable scrutiny and analysis.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Noun
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In one instance, a male had missed 50 meals.—
Julia Ainsley,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
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Two mountain lion kittens — a male and a female — were fatally struck on Southland roadways within two days of each other, it was announced Thursday.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
29 May 2026
Noun
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The conflict in the Middle East has posed a severe risk to the Indian economy, as energy supply disruptions have inflated the country's import bill, piling pressure on the rupee that has already been hit by record foreign investor outflows.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
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The resulting harm and risks fall on everyone whose lives are shaped by AI systems.—
Michael Gregory,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
Noun
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His profession is to be the screaming jerk on reality shows, and his house burns down.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 May 2026
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These measurements enabled scientists to identify sudden changes linked to the Pacific reversal and a geomagnetic disturbance known as the 2017 geomagnetic jerk.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
Noun
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Ryan Gosling, 2024 The original gentleman who preferred blondes?—
Alex Apatoff,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
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Deborah Vance, who did NOT die, ladies and gentlemen and they/thems!—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Joker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joker. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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