laughingstock

noun

ˈla-fiŋ-ˌstäk How to pronounce laughingstock (audio)
Definition of laughingstocknext
as in joke
a person or thing that is made fun of his nerdy clothes made him the laughingstock of the schoolyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of laughingstock Richmond became the laughingstock of the Premier League, and the players increasingly struggled with morale, even while their off-the-pitch bonds remained as strong as ever. — Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026 Harbaugh is doing this because the Giants currently are a laughingstock, an afterthought, one of the losingest franchises in the NFL for the bulk of the past decade. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026 The other—the New York Knicks—have gone from the NBA's laughingstock just a decade ago to NBA champion. — Robert Reiss, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 The fundamentalist movement became a national laughingstock. — Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for laughingstock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laughingstock
  1. joke
  2. fool
Noun
  • The chain, which has over 200 locations in the United States, was recently caught in a culture war against its will, sparked by a joke from former President Barack Obama on its aesthetic.
    — Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Later on during Weekend Update, Michael Che made a joke about Israel that made Jost jokingly grimace.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of joke
Noun
  • Watching with the hope that anything serious will ever shift for the central characters is a fool’s errand.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Halloween is treated as his blind spot, the day each year this Socrates of the gang makes a fool of himself and misses out on treats.
    — Colin Fleming, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of fool

Browse Nearby Words

laughing off
laughingstock
laughingstocks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laughingstock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laughingstock. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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