tongue-in-cheek

adjective

Definition of tongue-in-cheeknext
as in flippant

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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 tongue-in-cheek However, the deft combination of punchy dialogue, tongue-in-cheek stunt casting and formally audacious video game effects paves the path for a second half that doesn’t remotely cohere. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026 The tongue-in-cheek caption led to the reveal that Beckinsale had gifted the couple the personalized M&Ms before the breakup, illustrating the playful friendship between the two actresses. — Sezin Devi Koehler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Oct. 2026 In a tongue-in-cheek short film, Turner and his pooch are shown squaring off over a game of chess. — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026 But did anyone notice the company’s tongue-in-cheek naming strategy? — Jason Barlow, Robb Report, 11 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-in-cheek
  1. flippant
  2. facetious
  3. ironic
  4. wry
  5. cynical
  6. dry
  7. poignant
Adjective
  • The sometimes-flippant enthusiasm with which people devour people’s real stories of loss can sting, Janus said.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Even Bess’s twins, once so tiny and bald in their preemie bassinets, now seemed to be growing, flippant as weeds.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of flippant
Adjective
  • The excess of emotion often scans as winkingly facetious, a dramatization to demonstrate just how deeply a person loves books.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026
  • The first thing he was asked, by another reporter who witnessed the debate, was a facetious question of whether he’s given MVP any thought.
    — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of facetious
Adjective
  • Many artists and audiences seem to think that a clinical, alienating, ironic, evasive, or aesthetically empty eye makes work very highbrow.
    — Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • If the score’s style is a bit of a pastiche of Queen’s own Eighties soundtrack work, the guitarist didn’t mind, since the band were already working in an ironic vein back then.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of ironic
Adjective
  • At the Irish Arts Center, the choreographer and director Oona Doherty is telling the raw, wry story of her great-great-grandfather, who as a child worked in a slaughterhouse in Belfast.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Gaiman’s rollicking novel recalls the wry childhood scares of Roald Dahl in its tale of young Coraline who, while exploring her family’s new apartment, passes through a mysterious door into an alternate version of her home.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of wry
Adjective
  • Even with an already cynical electorate, the toll is measurable.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The cynical nihilism of it all is exhausting, and ultimately the joke is on us.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of cynical
Adjective
  • Inland, Sidi Bouzid offers about 5 minutes, 33 seconds beneath typically dry skies, while the spectacular Roman amphitheater at El Jem gets 4 minutes, 23 seconds.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Fresco painting involves laying dry powdered pigment onto the wet plaster so that the pigment is absorbed into the plaster and becomes one with it.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of dry
Adjective
  • Watch On Aimless but charming Lloyd (John Cusack) falls for the ambitious Diane (Ione Skye) as the end of high school draws near in this hilarious but also poignant film.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Lily’s status as an amateur makes this struggle all the more poignant.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of poignant

Browse Nearby Words

tongue
tongue-in-cheek
tongue-lash
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Cite this Entry

“Tongue-in-cheek.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-in-cheek. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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