as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
friends had left the risqué message on his voice mail as a practical joke
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of practical joke
At a lavish country house party, a practical joke appears to have gone horribly, murderously wrong.
—
Jake Kanter, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
With over 300 episodes to shoot, there was time for some practical jokes.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
This is all some practical joke that’s being played on me.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Jordan had thought he’d been set up for a practical joke.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Jake Kanter, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
With over 300 episodes to shoot, there was time for some practical jokes.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
This is all some practical joke that’s being played on me.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Jordan had thought he’d been set up for a practical joke.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for practical joke
Noun
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Some in the art world speculate Banksy orchestrated the unmasking himself as a publicity stunt, consistent with his history of subversive pranks and satire.—
Laurie Kellman,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
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Creator and host Eric André took the late-night talk show, a TV genre with all-too-familiar conventions, and twisted it beyond recognition with harrowing celebrity interviews, person-on-the-street stunts, jump-scare pranks, and gratuitous nudity.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The only trick now is for the league to get a team to the final Monday night of the season and actually cut down the nets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Eating a balanced diet should do the trick for the majority.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While the senator comes to the position after more than a dozen years in Congress, and with the management experience of running an expanding family plumbing business in Oklahoma, he has not been seen as a key force in immigration issues.—
Rebecca Santana,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Mar. 2026
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This creates a seamless control experience, where machines respond instantly to human actions.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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And the staff are available up to nine hours a day to lead on-property animal rescue adventures and oversee sand-castle building on the two private beaches.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Mar. 2026
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The Leo moon sparks your restless desires for fun and adventure.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Practical joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/practical%20joke. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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