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
Relevance
as in jesting
Related 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of joking
Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 28 Dec. 2025
Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.
—Greg Cote
december 20, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
But this outline is far more serious than White’s joking and explicit memoir, in which pleasure is always the goal.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
All three, dressed in formalwear for a photo shoot but with a joking, easy manner together, seem at home — this journalist, less so.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Self was in a joking mood when asked about the squad’s stellar defensive play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025
Jones eventually got into his joking bag, and Bleek took that opportunity to seriously set the record straight one last time.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 15 Oct. 2025
And their joking comments about their relationship never help the matter.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 15 Oct. 2025
Only an Aries, like Lily, can take Barney’s jabs in a joking way.
—Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
Angela Haupt, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone exchanged texts on the morning the Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced this week, joking about the outcome after Stone landed a nod and Lawrence did not.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 8 Jan. 2026
The lines were pretty long, both to order and to pick up, but people passed the 15-20 minutes chatting with each other and joking about the cold.
—Judith Martin, Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
During that call, Patricia said the couple seemed joyful and were joking around.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
At the time, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin could be heard joking about the couple in the viral video.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
Sig [Weaver] is always joking with me about it.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 26 Dec. 2025
Or, joking around with cruise staff, fans as well as his fellow industry mates.
—Essence, 4 Nov. 2025
Others welcomed the move, while some suggested that Abbott was joking.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 28 Dec. 2025
Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.
—Greg Cote
december 20, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
But this outline is far more serious than White’s joking and explicit memoir, in which pleasure is always the goal.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
All three, dressed in formalwear for a photo shoot but with a joking, easy manner together, seem at home — this journalist, less so.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Self was in a joking mood when asked about the squad’s stellar defensive play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025
Jones eventually got into his joking bag, and Bleek took that opportunity to seriously set the record straight one last time.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 15 Oct. 2025
And their joking comments about their relationship never help the matter.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 15 Oct. 2025
Only an Aries, like Lily, can take Barney’s jabs in a joking way.
—Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
Turn around and make a lighthearted comment to the person behind you, maybe joking about the wait time, Simon-Thomas suggests.
—Angela Haupt, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone exchanged texts on the morning the Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced this week, joking about the outcome after Stone landed a nod and Lawrence did not.
—Anna Tingley, Variety, 8 Jan. 2026
The lines were pretty long, both to order and to pick up, but people passed the 15-20 minutes chatting with each other and joking about the cold.
—Judith Martin, Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
During that call, Patricia said the couple seemed joyful and were joking around.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
At the time, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin could be heard joking about the couple in the viral video.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
Sig [Weaver] is always joking with me about it.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 26 Dec. 2025
Or, joking around with cruise staff, fans as well as his fellow industry mates.
—Essence, 4 Nov. 2025
Others welcomed the move, while some suggested that Abbott was joking.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joking
Noun
-
Language There’s some crude language, jesting, and mature comedic themes, but but nothing the modern tween or teen hasn’t seen or heard before.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Literally toxic lesbians — kidding.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Just kidding - but honestly not sold on him being the best player on a championship caliber team.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Viewers see painful flashbacks throughout the show of classmates teasing Kelly about being overweight and daring her to drink urine.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
-
On Wednesday, Duff ramped up the anticipation for her new album, teasing a new song about dive bar hookups, inconvenient roommates, and a once-red-hot romance fizzling into the tombs of relationship graveyards.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The Marriage Story star first appeared as a child in an uncredited role in the Scorsese film — Ladd's first taste of major acclaim as the sarcastic waitress Flo.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The kicking game was so bad that Freeman sounded like Brian Kelly at his sarcastic best when asked about Noah Burnette, Erik Schmidt and Marcello Diomede combining to miss two extra points and one field goal.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Crucially, the eggs were fittingly fluffy, none of that rubbery nonsense that plague lesser burrito slingers.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
6 Nov. 2025
-
All’s Fair is girlboss nonsense.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Aikman appeared to be a bit quizzical.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
29 Oct. 2025
-
In a YouTube video, the robot’s head glances around with a quizzical expression and blinks in a way that is eerily lifelike.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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