as in merry
indicative of or marked by high spirits or good humor
the satisfying comedy put us in a laughing mood for the rest of the evening
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in giggling
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
everyone laughed when the clown dramatically slipped and fell
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sneering
to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions
you're going to try out for the football team? Don't make me laugh!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of laughing
Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Keith moved into the center of the balcony, posing and laughing.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
There was none of the usual laughing and joking.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2026
The laughing becomes infectious.
—Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Belt It Out at Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar If your idea of a great date involves a little chaos, a lot of laughing, and maybe a surprisingly decent duet, Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar is calling your name.
—Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The former competitive cheerleader said the laughing was an act of misogyny.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Harbour and Brown arrived together on the red carpet for the premiere of the latest season and were captured on camera laughing, hugging each other and posing for photos.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
The laughing and stuff wasn’t written into it.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025
Staff, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
The Eagles posted a video on the night of the trade of Hurts and Brown on a FaceTime call with each other, laughing uncontrollably.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Trace Armstrong, who played six of his 15 NFL seasons in Miami, Louis Olivier, a six-year starter for the Dolphins, and Hall of Fame linebacker Zach Thomas were on the field watching, laughing, reminiscing while the beginning stages of a franchise’s reset was on the field working.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 2 June 2026
Set the scene The family-friendly ambiance is immediately noticeable, with children laughing and playing throughout the resort.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Even Carol Schott, cast as Celia, couldn’t help laughing.
—Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Williams asked, as off camera a man could be heard laughing.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
There’s nothing better than spending time with your best friends or family, playing outside, trying your hand at a video game, or laughing at a silly movie.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 31 May 2026
The sports gods are laughing at us.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
Noun
Mira and two friends moved to a low wall and huddled around their own smartwatches, whispering and laughing.
—Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Keith moved into the center of the balcony, posing and laughing.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
There was none of the usual laughing and joking.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2026
The laughing becomes infectious.
—Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Belt It Out at Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar If your idea of a great date involves a little chaos, a lot of laughing, and maybe a surprisingly decent duet, Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar is calling your name.
—Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The former competitive cheerleader said the laughing was an act of misogyny.
—Jay Stahl, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Harbour and Brown arrived together on the red carpet for the premiere of the latest season and were captured on camera laughing, hugging each other and posing for photos.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
The laughing and stuff wasn’t written into it.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Conversation starters → One Hollywood actor's in-flight rant has travelers laughing — and arguing — all over again.
—Staff, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
The Eagles posted a video on the night of the trade of Hurts and Brown on a FaceTime call with each other, laughing uncontrollably.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Trace Armstrong, who played six of his 15 NFL seasons in Miami, Louis Olivier, a six-year starter for the Dolphins, and Hall of Fame linebacker Zach Thomas were on the field watching, laughing, reminiscing while the beginning stages of a franchise’s reset was on the field working.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 2 June 2026
Set the scene The family-friendly ambiance is immediately noticeable, with children laughing and playing throughout the resort.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Even Carol Schott, cast as Celia, couldn’t help laughing.
—Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Williams asked, as off camera a man could be heard laughing.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
There’s nothing better than spending time with your best friends or family, playing outside, trying your hand at a video game, or laughing at a silly movie.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 31 May 2026
The sports gods are laughing at us.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laughing
Adjective
-
The picture’s eclectic cast, which included Anouk Aimée, Greta Scacchi and Maximilian Schell (with cameos by Faye Dunaway, Holly Hunter and Jeff Goldblum), swirled its merry way across the grand event in search of romance, fame and the ever-elusive movie deal.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
-
But in the cycling ecosystem, the Rockets are still minnows, a bunch of merry men with a camera — up against teams funded by international business conglomerates and nation states.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Karen Jesch, a PhD student at Boston College’s Canine Cognition Center, points out that human smiling is a strange behavior to begin with, and not always a happy one.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
14 May 2026
-
There was a lot of nervous smiling.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Flashlight tag is an oldie but goodie and will have parents giggling like schoolgirls along with their kids.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2026
-
Total strangers giggling about his addiction to drugs.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
Newman’s God is laughing at our prayers, sneering at our cries for help.—
Time,
Time,
6 May 2026
-
But there’s also a kind of sneering conventional wisdom toward Vance that doesn’t seem to have much basis in political reality.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
He-Man was now a jolly, quip-ready hero, whose best friends were scaredy-cat Cringer (a green-and-yellow tiger who transformed into Battle Cat), and an annoying, hovering magician called Orko.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
-
Fishing boats sat docked along the pier, bouncing on top of the water like a row of jolly babies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Baffert watched it all on his laptop from California, chuckling as the board showing the horse’s price flaked out momentarily.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
-
Flying cows, fiddle-playing cats, and chuckling retrievers inhabit the space between ornate columns.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The itineraries aboard the line’s nearly 2,700-guest Nieuw Statendam ship will incorporate the festive stops into ocean voyages.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
-
The festive holiday lights, a winter staple of Mears Park, lined only one side of the park, leaving its three other sides bare.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
And watching the videos of the people jumping out of their chairs, screaming, cheering was so cool.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
2 June 2026
-
An exasperated Tomás enters the thicket himself to retrieve, among other items, Liam’s boot, and doesn’t emerge until the next day—not screaming, but fundamentally changed.—
Nora Biette-Timmons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laughing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laughing. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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