as in joke
a person or thing that is made fun of
his nerdy clothes made him the laughingstock of the schoolyard
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Recent Examples of laughingstock
The disastrous response to that icy gridlock turned Atlanta into a laughingstock and transformed how leaders prepare for severe weather.
—
Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Indiana University Hoosiers went from a college-football laughingstock to national champions.
—Clare Malone, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Ratings for this year’s playoff games have been up substantially, as fans gravitate to Indiana’s turnaround story from football laughingstock to CFP power.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 19 Jan. 2026
The Hoosiers in two years have gone from a college football laughingstock to one of the most complete teams in the country that has toppled national powers Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon on their way to the title game.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laughingstock
Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The Indiana University Hoosiers went from a college-football laughingstock to national champions.
—Clare Malone, New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2026
Ratings for this year’s playoff games have been up substantially, as fans gravitate to Indiana’s turnaround story from football laughingstock to CFP power.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 19 Jan. 2026
The Hoosiers in two years have gone from a college football laughingstock to one of the most complete teams in the country that has toppled national powers Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon on their way to the title game.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laughingstock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laughingstock
Noun
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The result is chaos, and a few too many jokes about young people not knowing how to work a fax machine or manage paper.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The meta joke is that Radcliffe was a pioneer of acting opposite tennis balls.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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K’Lavon Chaisson is available, too, but paying players after a breakout season is generally a fool’s errand.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
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And only a fool cannot see that the vast majority of Iranians wanted this regime to be removed from their lives.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laughingstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laughingstock. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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