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
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Recent Examples of joking
Evandro Cruz Silva, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
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
Adisa Hargett-Robinson, The Washington Examiner, 15 Feb. 2026
The night had begun with Evangelos Marinakis laughing and joking on the touchline with injured defender Murillo.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
On Monday, eternal troll 50 Cent leaned into the breakup chatter on Instagram, joking that Diggs lost both the Super Bowl and his girlfriend.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The two began to argue over each other, as Bessent said the president was joking.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2026
Hooters waitresses Amanda Hall and Sarah Glynn became familiar faces online, dancing, joking and often poking fun at themselves.
—Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Her sisters kept things light, joking about Lauren's struggles to get down the stairs on her crutches.
—Kelly O'Grady, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
Video taken from inside that officer’s car showed Chloe at first laughing and Tomlyn joking about how hard the seat is in the back of the cruiser.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Feb. 2026
Of course, Morris is only joking — something he's made a living doing for most of his career, from his pioneering run as SNL's first Black cast member (1975-1980) to his time as a TV regular on sitcoms including The Jeffersons, Martin and 2 Broke Girls.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
Written in a joking and contemptuous tone, the tweet would take on an indescribably morbid weight just five days later, when, at the behest of Governor Cláudio Castro, the Rio de Janeiro police carried out the deadliest massacre in the country’s history.
—Evandro Cruz Silva, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
Obama dismissed those rumors, joking that if aliens existed and were being concealed, even the president was not in on it.
—Adisa Hargett-Robinson, The Washington Examiner, 15 Feb. 2026
The night had begun with Evangelos Marinakis laughing and joking on the touchline with injured defender Murillo.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
On Monday, eternal troll 50 Cent leaned into the breakup chatter on Instagram, joking that Diggs lost both the Super Bowl and his girlfriend.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The two began to argue over each other, as Bessent said the president was joking.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2026
Hooters waitresses Amanda Hall and Sarah Glynn became familiar faces online, dancing, joking and often poking fun at themselves.
—Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Her sisters kept things light, joking about Lauren's struggles to get down the stairs on her crutches.
—Kelly O'Grady, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2026
Video taken from inside that officer’s car showed Chloe at first laughing and Tomlyn joking about how hard the seat is in the back of the cruiser.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Feb. 2026
Of course, Morris is only joking — something he's made a living doing for most of his career, from his pioneering run as SNL's first Black cast member (1975-1980) to his time as a TV regular on sitcoms including The Jeffersons, Martin and 2 Broke Girls.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
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
-
There are also cool maps on the local prevalence of certain health conditions, from arthritis and asthma to cancer and high cholesterol to diabetes and depression to — not kidding here — where people have lost all their teeth.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Literally toxic lesbians — kidding.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Humphrey's work consists of reviewing thousands of messages and tags, seeking permission from original video creators and balancing humor with teasing.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Netflix released a trailer on Friday teasing what’s to come from the remaining four episodes, which are set to drop on February 26.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But pull her away from the TV cameras, photographers and the prying eyes of the world, and her sarcastic-bordering-on-vulgar sense of humor bubbles to the surface.—
Dave Skretta,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Liu asked with a sarcastic scoff and giggle.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But the jumble of words coming out of Harper’s mouth is nonsense.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Aside from how much human assistance the AIs had, the vast bulk of the submissions appear to be a lot of very convincing nonsense.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
14 Feb. 2026
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
-
With quizzical eyes upon it, Players Era announced that its checks ultimately cleared a couple weeks later, with most of the money routed through schools’ dedicated NIL collectives.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Baker initially shot Benard a quizzical look.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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