as in badinage
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
Luke had to put up with a lot of raillery from his sister the first time he asked a girl for a date
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of raillery
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, 14 Oct. 2020
Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 July 2017
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, 14 Oct. 2020
Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raillery
Noun
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The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
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Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
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The piece signals transformation, but the spontaneous laugh turns luxury into connection; by the red-gown reveal, the necklace reads less like a trophy and more like a charm that’s worked.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
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According to showrunner and executive producer David Mirkin, these laughs sometimes just serve as a tool to make sure the episodes are the correct length for broadcast.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got in on the joke after his team captured the National League pennant for the fifth time in the past nine years.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Students embraced the joke, and before long, every game began with hundreds of tortillas soaring into the night sky as the whistle blew for kickoff.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In addition to some light-hearted banter between Thia and Dek, the trailer gives viewers a look at the treacherous journey ahead of them.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Nobody Wants This is back for a second season, providing not only good banter, but some pretty deep questions about faith and compatibility.—
NPR,
NPR,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The jury also appreciated the thematically appropriate disregard for linear time used in the movie and found hope and joy in watching these characters seek humor and hold tight to each other in the face of a difficult disease.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
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Rather than shy away from the association, the company decided to respond to the incident with humor.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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How did Betty manage the scenes with Ophelia, with their bawdy repartee?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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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
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Esiason's ribbing comes after a recent lighthearted back-and-forth between Waldman and Dave Sims, the play-by-play voice of the Bronx Bombers.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
9 Oct. 2025
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The length has been shortened to create a boxy silhouette and the ribbing at the hem was adjusted for a stronger tension.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Raillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raillery. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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