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
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
The women’s team declined their joking invitation and had to explain comments directed at them.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2026
The tiny macaque, born on July 26, is often spotted clutching a plush toy from IKEA and has melted hearts across the internet, inspiring a wave of comments from fans half-joking about booking flights to Japan to check on him.
—Joshua Mellin, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2026
Harry Styles is ready to do some late-night joking.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026
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
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
Claire Heddles, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
Always entertaining and joking with those around him, the outspoken American has taken on a showman personality at the Games.
—Tales Azzoni, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Group chat logs obtained by the Miami New Times in 2018 showed TPUSA chapter members joking about rape.
—Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
The guys were joking around, calling coach my dad and stuff like that.
—Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2026
Evidence was later released showing Border Patrol agents bragging and joking about the shooting.
—Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
The guests behind me at yesterday’s Matières Fécales show were joking about Sánchez Bezos potentially making an appearance.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Shitposting, Topinka explains, makes good-faith engagement impossible and critics look foolish because the shitposter is plausibly joking.
—Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
Gold medalists Hilary Knight and Megan Keller joined Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie onstage at Saturday Night Live; the Hughes brothers were there too, with some joking around seemingly meant to display a sense that all is good between the men's and women's teams.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
Noun
Lindsay says that Jesse was serious about asking, but that the make-out would be a joking make-out.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
The women’s team declined their joking invitation and had to explain comments directed at them.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2026
The tiny macaque, born on July 26, is often spotted clutching a plush toy from IKEA and has melted hearts across the internet, inspiring a wave of comments from fans half-joking about booking flights to Japan to check on him.
—Joshua Mellin, Travel + Leisure, 27 Feb. 2026
Harry Styles is ready to do some late-night joking.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026
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
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
Verb
Group chat logs obtained by the Miami New Times in 2018 showed TPUSA chapter members joking about rape.
—Claire Heddles, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
Always entertaining and joking with those around him, the outspoken American has taken on a showman personality at the Games.
—Tales Azzoni, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Group chat logs obtained by the Miami New Times in 2018 showed TPUSA chapter members joking about rape.
—Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
The guys were joking around, calling coach my dad and stuff like that.
—Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2026
Evidence was later released showing Border Patrol agents bragging and joking about the shooting.
—Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
The guests behind me at yesterday’s Matières Fécales show were joking about Sánchez Bezos potentially making an appearance.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Shitposting, Topinka explains, makes good-faith engagement impossible and critics look foolish because the shitposter is plausibly joking.
—Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
Gold medalists Hilary Knight and Megan Keller joined Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie onstage at Saturday Night Live; the Hughes brothers were there too, with some joking around seemingly meant to display a sense that all is good between the men's and women's teams.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 2 Mar. 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
-
Fans are convinced Musgraves is teasing a new album, which her fanbase has dubbed KM6.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Netflix is dishing out a second serving of A24‘s Beef, teasing a first look at the sophomore season of Lee Sung Jin‘s anthology.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Gavalas was a normal guy, Edelson said – a golfer, a funny person with a sarcastic wit, a video gamer.—
Brittany Wallman
Updated March 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Mother of two children with her sarcastic, smart and handsome husband.—
Gerald Witt,
AJC.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The whole tariff nonsense, the tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court, those tariffs rested on false claims by the president of the United States about economic emergency.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
-
And don’t give me the lacking pass protection nonsense.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
2 Mar. 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
-
The quizzical quartet: Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Bryce Huff and Keion White.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
When the film won, many in the media room at BAFTA turned to each other with a quizzical look.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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