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
-
Following Colbert’s ongoing jokes at the president’s expense, Trump has celebrated the talk show’s demise.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Take the verdant Monsieur Chic from designer Brett Johnson’s debut trio of parfums, named after a running joke his late wife, Sarah, would deploy when he got dressed up for date nights.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
16 Aug. 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
-
Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
-
In The Kitchen, Wesker tracked the decorum from friendly badinage to hostile vernacular that co-workers sustain just to get through the day.—
Armond White,
National Review,
30 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Video episodes often include behind-the-scenes moments, visual gags, and extra banter not as noticeable in audio-only format.—
Hannah Parry
Anna Commander
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Hinton grinned at the banter, but his tone shifted once talk turned to the central question of his later career: when will AI surpass the human mind?—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Like, just write 100 tunes and record them all (laughs).—
Ed Masley,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Adam Sandler is also still generating laughs with Happy Gilmore 2.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Balki and cousin Larry slipped right into their old repartee from the beloved ABC sitcom.—
Ryan Coleman Published,
EW.com,
14 July 2025
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His brother Richard Rosenthal is Somebody Feed Phil’s executive producer and showrunner; their on-camera repartee is a golden fan-favorite.—
Laura Manske,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Noun
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Despite that apprehension, No Hard Feelings is still a carefree project, filled with humor and levity while touching on the deep universality of love, heartbreak, and new beginnings.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
6 Aug. 2025
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Bronstein’s breathless, pressure-cooker visual approach and Byrne’s fearlessly committed performance (which earned her the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlinale) contribute to a full-throttle film that depicts life as a series of never-ending fires—without losing its sense of fanciful humor.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Day 2 of school and the wheat’s already been separated from the chaff.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Aug. 2025
-
After hiring an industry executive, the company figured out how to separate the valuable ore from the chaff.—
Peter Cohan,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persiflage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persiflage. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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