as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
their tongue-in-cheek persiflage is sometimes mistaken for an exchange of insults by people who don't know them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persiflage
None of this will keep Republicans and conservatives from attacking the reconciliation bill with smoke, mirrors and persiflage.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2022
As Nixon’s political strategist, Kevin Phillips, told the New York Times in 1970:
All the talk about Republicans making inroads into the Negro vote is persiflage.
—Jane Coaston, Vox, 12 Oct. 2018
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2022
As Nixon’s political strategist, Kevin Phillips, told the New York Times in 1970:
All the talk about Republicans making inroads into the Negro vote is persiflage.
—Jane Coaston, Vox, 12 Oct. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persiflage
Noun
-
There’s a joke in here somewhere.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Some Sora users depicted King making crude jokes and other inappropriate content.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
With time, their caustic raillery transforms into sincere attachment.—
Charlie Tyson,
The Atlantic,
13 May 2021
-
French’s evocation of place, a rural way of life and overall creepiness are superb, as is the dialogue, a festival of Irish raillery and repartee.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Noun
-
The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
-
Buddy Hield’s bobblehead night The Warriors’ promotional giveaway was a bobblehead featuring Butler and Buddy Hield at a news conference, a place the two have become infamous for their postgame banter.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
18 Oct. 2025
-
There’s no escaping the office banter the week before or after the series.—
Brad Schlossman,
Twin Cities,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Newlyweds Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco made their first appearance as a married couple at the event — sneaking off right after taking their carpet photos — while Demi Moore and Lucy Liu shared some laughs on the photo line, and Scorsese and Ben Stiller each brought their daughters as dates.—
Kirsten Chuba,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Its interconnected tales, which evoke campfire stories and urban legends, wring morbid laughs and genuine scares in much the same fashion as Tales From the Crypt.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
How did Betty manage the scenes with Ophelia, with their bawdy repartee?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
-
No one is better built than Leavy, a crafty veteran sportswriter, for between-innings repartee, wry asides, and tossed-off ideas for improving her beloved sport—and maybe even keeping its ever-looming obsolescence at bay for another decade or three.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Across almost 20 novels, the British author spun fantastical tales with unsentimental wit, infusing his work with darkly morbid humor, blithe child endangerment, rotten and antagonistic adults, and a willingness to occasionally laugh at the misfortune of others.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
17 Oct. 2025
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Its blend of Korean folklore, witty humor, and irresistibly infectious pop songs has cemented it as an instant classic.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For the rest of us, this is where the wheat and the chaff separate.—
Bo Howard,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Day 2 of school and the wheat’s already been separated from the chaff.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persiflage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persiflage. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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