as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
the lightly ribbing tone tipped me off that this wasn't a serious reprimand
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in mocking
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
ribbed him a bit about fumbling such an easy play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ribbing
Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 9 Feb. 2025
At a 10th anniversary screening at the 2011 New York Film Festival, Anderson and ensemble members Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray and Gwyneth Paltrow indulged in some good-natured ribbing of Hackman’s irascibility on the shoot.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This also makes the references to certain King adaptation mainstays feel like deliberate ribbing.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
The ribbing kicked off Saturday with this tweet on X — seen 11 million times as of Sunday morning — from Joshua Bessex, a photojournalist for The Buffalo News.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ribbing
Noun
Trump’s playful and public ribbing of one of the world’s most prominent media moguls underscored the years-long on-again, off-again relationship between the president and publishing tycoon, one that political and media observers told The Hill this week has reached a critical new stage.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 9 Feb. 2025
At a 10th anniversary screening at the 2011 New York Film Festival, Anderson and ensemble members Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray and Gwyneth Paltrow indulged in some good-natured ribbing of Hackman’s irascibility on the shoot.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This also makes the references to certain King adaptation mainstays feel like deliberate ribbing.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
The ribbing kicked off Saturday with this tweet on X — seen 11 million times as of Sunday morning — from Joshua Bessex, a photojournalist for The Buffalo News.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ribbing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ribbing
Verb
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Seinfeld was clearly teasing, but sure enough, several headlines reported it as gospel with perhaps a mention three paragraphs in that it was intended to be humorous.—
Jenelle Riley,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2025
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Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk are teasing the third and final season of the Netflix series.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
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For myself and many of my classmates, the four-story Forever 21 in Times Square was the most exciting part of our senior-class trip to New York City—not joking!—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
18 Mar. 2025
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And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.—
Todd Nordstrom,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Goldberg continued before asking her co-hosts their opinions in a sarcastic tone.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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Where Jackie is sarcastic, cynical, and all sharp edges, Zoey is enthusiastic and warm.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The crowd’s reaction in the recording further supports that Em’s bars relied on technical skill and wordplay—not racial provocation.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
29 Apr. 2025
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The puzzles are rarely straightforward and use homophones and wordplay—among other techniques—to keep players challenged.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Instead of shaping stories that convince, craft absorbing narratives that evoke raw emotion—humor, suspense, passion, disgust and even fear.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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Like a Dickensian Andy Capp, Johnson is an uber-charming rogue, an everyman bluesy belter whose winking humor with a hint of the scoundrel are not entirely unlike Scott’s demeanor, though each man’s vocals, inflection and stage presence are/were clearly their own.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Ted and Harvey are buddies, trading barbs and game plans.—
Ayan Artan,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2025
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Paxton and Cornyn have traded barbs back and forth for years, with the attorney general slamming Cornyn’s votes in favor of additional U.S. aid to Ukraine and bipartisan legislation on gun safety following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ribbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ribbing. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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