as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
a joshing response to my earnest question
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
for all his joshing, he can be very serious when he needs to be
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in kidding
to make fun of in a good-natured way
don't get all hot and bothered! I'm just joshing you
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jesting
to make jokes
a very outgoing man who joshes with everyone he meets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of joshing
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Demetrios Matheou,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Nov. 2025
Cheryl — who jumped in the mosh pit briefly at the first party — hung out in the back, sitting on her walker and gently joshing Erika’s young son for wearing earplugs while a singer screamed into the microphone.
—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
13 Nov. 2025
Noun
The humorous joshing and teasing that came out of their initial love just gets worse and worse.
—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Cranston and Essiedu convey a father-son bond of unusual closeness — hugging, play-fighting, joshing; but this physical proximity will be repeated at the end of the play to devastatingly different effect.
—
Demetrios Matheou,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Nov. 2025
Cheryl — who jumped in the mosh pit briefly at the first party — hung out in the back, sitting on her walker and gently joshing Erika’s young son for wearing earplugs while a singer screamed into the microphone.
—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
13 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joshing
Noun
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As the escape-room activity kicks off — the guests have 30 minutes to find Aesha’s crew — the boys find plenty of opportunity to make insinuating jokes about tying up the girls, some (Coop) more wholesome than others (Luke).
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And as a distant relative jokes, many can be found on mortgages, loans and other debts.
Verb
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Just kidding, but seeing Angela’s team sweep Shamea’s at the Bailey Bowl basketball tournament was almost as satisfying as knowing Charles got to witness his former team’s historic win in person.
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Room was kidding, but someone inside Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night had the power to make that happen.
Verb
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Thursday evening, joking about his suspension last year for his comments about reactions to conservator commentator Charlie Kirk’s death.
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Sudano said his son was a good kid who was outgoing, always joking and good-hearted.
Noun
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Steele’s portrayal of imperious, glamorous Tanya provides some of the show’s biggest laughs.
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What makes this such an exhilarating watch is how the performers navigate every passive-aggressive aside, every catty comment, every choice bit of annoying behavior played for laughs, pathos, or both at once.
Verb
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The pop singer has been teasing her return to music over the past few weeks with cryptic posts on social media featuring various images accompanied locations, dates and times.
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Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, took over as chief executive of Relativity a little more than a year ago, teasing new areas of focus such as orbital data centers, philanthropic space science ventures, and national security missions.
Noun
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Meanwhile, sitcoms like Friends marked a movement toward irony in comedy with its trademark tongue-in-cheek banter and sarcasm, Thompson explains.
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Relationships could feel expressive, dramatic or oddly revealing today, but beneath the banter is a deeper question about emotional security.
Noun
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Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.
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No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.
Noun
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Left on their own, boisterous badinage between old school British thespian Shaw and giggly, hyper-ventilating wannabe movie star Dreyfuss has taken hold.
-
The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.
Cite this Entry
“Joshing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joshing. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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