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
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
as in jesting
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of joking
Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 15 Oct. 2025
And their joking comments about their relationship never help the matter.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 15 Oct. 2025
Our days starting with coffee in the makeup trailer, laughing and joking, right through to the very last day of filming.
—Giana Levy, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Only an Aries, like Lily, can take Barney’s jabs in a joking way.
—Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
When Peanut pulled his second escape act, his owners knew where to look and handled Peanut's disappearance in a joking manner.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Multiple outlets that examined the reporting identified the claim as unverified and labeled the story a hoax; Colbert had previously made a joking on-air reference to streaming platforms but had not announced any deal with Netflix.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
But while the ads are laugh-out-loud funny, the product is anything but a joking matter.
—Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2025
Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Orgeron provided one of the most memorable quotes about his firing and subsequent buyout, joking about it when speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas in 2022.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
While joking with Meyers, Swift revealed her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, made a massive mix-up at one of her Eras Tour shows.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Sanders, who has been at Colorado since 2022 after two seasons at Jackson State University, could be seen in his son’s YouTube video joking around with his family while laying in a hospital bed on Tuesday night.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
The TikTok video garnered numerous comments, with some who missed that Dom was joking and trolling the kid, and others praising him for staying in character.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
When the sketch came to an end, Jost and Che immediately began joking about Yang's wardrobe malfunction.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
Samir said, not entirely joking.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
For Wyatt, those times often included silly banter and joking with his grandfather, or the time a packet of hot chocolate exploded in his face.
—Barbie Porter, Twin Cities, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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
Our days starting with coffee in the makeup trailer, laughing and joking, right through to the very last day of filming.
—Giana Levy, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Only an Aries, like Lily, can take Barney’s jabs in a joking way.
—Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
When Peanut pulled his second escape act, his owners knew where to look and handled Peanut's disappearance in a joking manner.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Multiple outlets that examined the reporting identified the claim as unverified and labeled the story a hoax; Colbert had previously made a joking on-air reference to streaming platforms but had not announced any deal with Netflix.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
But while the ads are laugh-out-loud funny, the product is anything but a joking matter.
—Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Moore was in the Bears’ locker room joking with teammates before leaving the stadium in an ambulance.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Orgeron provided one of the most memorable quotes about his firing and subsequent buyout, joking about it when speaking to the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Arkansas in 2022.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
While joking with Meyers, Swift revealed her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, made a massive mix-up at one of her Eras Tour shows.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Sanders, who has been at Colorado since 2022 after two seasons at Jackson State University, could be seen in his son’s YouTube video joking around with his family while laying in a hospital bed on Tuesday night.
—Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
The TikTok video garnered numerous comments, with some who missed that Dom was joking and trolling the kid, and others praising him for staying in character.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
When the sketch came to an end, Jost and Che immediately began joking about Yang's wardrobe malfunction.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
Samir said, not entirely joking.
—Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
For Wyatt, those times often included silly banter and joking with his grandfather, or the time a packet of hot chocolate exploded in his face.
—Barbie Porter, Twin Cities, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joking
Verb
-
Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Okay, kidding about that last part.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Now, as Meadow Lane is set to officially open its doors this fall, Nussdorf is just excited for people to finally try the food, especially after more than a year of teasing his TikTok followers.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
-
However, Motorola has already begun teasing international availability.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
As a model named Carl, stuck in a relationship corrupted by microcelebrity and Instagram view counts, Dickinson ticks with exasperation and sarcastic logic, his jaw clenched, his eyes wide and staring.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Following the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, and Rory, played by Alexis Bledel, Gilmore Girls was perfectly made for millennials, packed with wistful romances, frustrating dramatic turns and just enough sarcastic jokes.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lisha speaks nonsense — or is that because she is concussed?—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Explaining exactly why this particular trend, like so many confounding memes and viral nonsense, will travel unbelievably far on the web, and elsewhere, is as easy as painting wind.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 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
-
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
-
Louie is summoned to the apartment of Joe Black, a higher-up gangster played by John Malkovich with a manner so quizzical yet threatening that his voice just about quivers with unexpressed rage.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Joking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joking. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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