as in kidding
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
grinned and gave him a joking nudge with my elbow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in jesting
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in funning
to make jokes
he was known for his ability to joke about his lack of anything resembling a social life
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
oh, don't get offended, I was just joking you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of joking
Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.
—Todd Nordstrom, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Of course, Martin and Short played right into the bit, with Short playfully falling to the floor after joking about how heavy the trophy was (multiple stars remarked about the weight of the statue during the live ceremony).
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And here are some of the comments from fans joking about Kelce’s blocking ability off the football field.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2025
Fans took to the comment section, joking about the billionaire and the Masked Singer host's baby-making competition.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Hoffman is only joking, of course.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Tim Lammers Apparently, Jagger wasn’t entirely joking.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Leigh, who had died of cancer a month earlier, in October 2015, had often asked her caregiver to move the hefty package and made seemingly joking references to a body being kept inside of it, according to the BBC.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Verb
For myself and many of my classmates, the four-story Forever 21 in Times Square was the most exciting part of our senior-class trip to New York City—not joking!
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2025
And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.
—Todd Nordstrom, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Of course, Martin and Short played right into the bit, with Short playfully falling to the floor after joking about how heavy the trophy was (multiple stars remarked about the weight of the statue during the live ceremony).
—Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025
And here are some of the comments from fans joking about Kelce’s blocking ability off the football field.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2025
Fans took to the comment section, joking about the billionaire and the Masked Singer host's baby-making competition.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Hoffman is only joking, of course.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Tim Lammers Apparently, Jagger wasn’t entirely joking.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Leigh, who had died of cancer a month earlier, in October 2015, had often asked her caregiver to move the hefty package and made seemingly joking references to a body being kept inside of it, according to the BBC.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joking
Adjective
-
While the jeers towards Xhaka followed the midfielder, Arsenal’s captain at the time, retaliating to sarcastic cheers from the crowd at him being replaced in an October 2019 home match against Crystal Palace, those directed at Eboue were due to his performance.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
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His first half was littered with increasingly ridiculous highlights: a lefty hook over Isaiah Hartenstein, a potpourri of 3s with hands in his face, a sarcastic stare-down after his defender tried taking a charge, followed by a pass to himself off the backboard to simplify the finish.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
13 May 2025
Verb
-
Seinfeld was clearly teasing, but sure enough, several headlines reported it as gospel with perhaps a mention three paragraphs in that it was intended to be humorous.—
Jenelle Riley,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2025
-
From teasing his retirement to becoming a minister and everything in between, here’s a look at the Hollywood star’s year of surprises.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
Fox News,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Everyone will be there — except Lydia, who Joseph dispatches on a nonsense errand to D.C.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
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The sequel has more glamour, more trouble and maybe a bit too much nonsense 1 Comments The first Simple Favor, from 2018, was a playful, shallow mystery most notable for casting the lovely, languid Blake Lively as a cynical, devious clothes horse named Emily Nelson.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Team owner Shad Khan looked up with a quizzical expression.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Guthrie’s buddy Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) in visiting him, and Bob walks into the room looking quizzical.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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