Thesaurus results for RAILLERY

raillery

noun

ˈrā-lə-rē

Definition of raillery

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

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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for raillery

Noun

Left on their own, boisterous badinage between old school British thespian Shaw and giggly, hyper-ventilating wannabe movie star Dreyfuss has taken hold.

— Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025

Definition of badinage

Noun

When Jenn and Emily return, Shannon tries to cut the tension by talking about jarred pizza sauce (the only real laugh-out-loud moment of the episode), but there’s no salvaging this night.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Here, she’s matured as a well-rounded comedienne who can pull the stops for subtle approaches to laughs, and though the mugging is still evident, it’s only used for propitious moments.

— Hank Grant, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of laugh

Noun

Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.

— Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.

— Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026

Definition of jesting

Noun

Their easy banter in a new AD video tour of the film set feels instantly familiar, echoing the dynamic between sisters Sally (Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Kidman) nearly three decades after Practical Magic first cast its spell on audiences in 1998.

— Livia Caligor, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2026
The banter between the two gives McDonagh’s script its usual comic crackle.

— Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of banter

Noun

Director Margaret Shigeko Starbuck leans into makeshift theatricality — flashlights, pool noodles, pocket umbrellas — while a nimble ensemble balances meta-theatrical humor with genuine feeling for Pericles and his beleaguered family.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Throughout the financial troubles that the couple face given Fyodor’s inability to deliver pages, Szumowska and Englert feature scatological humor that further dissolves any notions of elegance associated with 19th-century Europe.

— Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of humor

Noun

Through rapid-fire verbal repartee, constant close-ups, and frantic cuts, Deramas treads a careful line between tragedy and comedy, the latter a psychological weapon against the former.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
Faith King and Josiah Fagerstrom both deliver delightfully prickly repartee as their characters gradually manage to surpass archetype.

— Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of repartee

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railings

raillery

railroad

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“Raillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raillery. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of raillery

noun

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