as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
made kidding remarks about her lack of skills in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in fooling
Related Words
1
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
everybody's kidding me about my new haircut
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jesting
to make jokes
he always kids around about his "wild and crazy" life as an accountant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kidding
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
While fictional, Joel’s compassion and care can’t help but feel like counterprogramming to the cynical everyday horrors of violent deportations, open bigotry from leading politicians, measles outbreaks and the return of whole milk (kidding!
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Just kidding, that’s next Sunday.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
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
The Aggies coach wasn’t kidding.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
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
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
Just kidding, Kim’s is a real and rational response, but Natalie is not having it.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
While fictional, Joel’s compassion and care can’t help but feel like counterprogramming to the cynical everyday horrors of violent deportations, open bigotry from leading politicians, measles outbreaks and the return of whole milk (kidding!
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Just kidding, that’s next Sunday.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 26 Oct. 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
The Aggies coach wasn’t kidding.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
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
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidding
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
Noun
-
The movie has a brief mocking glimpse of MTV, just for a cheap laugh, when Springsteen is flipping channels between Badlands reruns.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
2 Nov. 2025
-
The cast, for their part, have not let up on their mocking of him.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
6 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
Noun
-
His coaches, Roy Hallenbeck and Ken Williams, subjected him to the same ribbing as every other player, even teasing him about his preference for wearing the same size too-small jersey for all four years, so that by senior year his biceps stretched the sleeves to their limit.—
Ben Watanabe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
-
And secondly, the ribbing around the quarter-zip is comfy-looking and actually works to insulate by trapping air.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Yes, Ohio, our beloved Buckeye state, is also a joke in the world of Gen Alpha slang.—
Mariyam Muhammad,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Dec. 2025
-
The comedy is a tonal mess, veering between underdeveloped jokes and unearned sentiment.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
His razzing of The Problem With Jon Stewart was the best grace note on the piece.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidding. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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