as in humor
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Recent Examples of wordplay
Beyond spectacles, Chinese New Year is incomplete without subtle wordplay.
—
Denni Hu, Footwear News, 23 Jan. 2026
But Cash’s most original and engaging writing is slightly out of step with reality and bleakly funny, devoted to wordplay and willing to be foolish about it.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
The song itself features high-energy beats and Rocky's classic wordplay.
—Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
Many of her jokes relied heavily on wordplay, like one about how the Rock might win a Globe because The Paper wasn’t nominated, but even sweaty double entendres like this landed well because Glaser moved on so quickly that there was no time for groans.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wordplay
Denni Hu, Footwear News, 23 Jan. 2026
But Cash’s most original and engaging writing is slightly out of step with reality and bleakly funny, devoted to wordplay and willing to be foolish about it.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
The song itself features high-energy beats and Rocky's classic wordplay.
—Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
Many of her jokes relied heavily on wordplay, like one about how the Rock might win a Globe because The Paper wasn’t nominated, but even sweaty double entendres like this landed well because Glaser moved on so quickly that there was no time for groans.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wordplay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wordplay
Noun
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Colleagues described him as a meticulous investigator and a committed trainer who brought humor and patience to his work.—
Ray Campos,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The English take their sandwiches dry, like their humor.—
Dominic Green,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The title of this Beckett classic just about sums up the onstage plot — but as Vladimir and Estragon pass time under a tree, their absurdist wit turns to existential rage.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
18 Mar. 2026
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What separates Mary from Alex, and the magnetically likable from everyone else, isn’t status, good looks, or wit.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The jokes that really stood out, though, were all about our changing media landscape, whether the not-so-gentle ribbing of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos finally embracing theaters, or Amazon being too much of a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2026
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Team Italy captain Vinnie Pasquantino is likely to get some good-natured ribbing from a few of his Royals teammates on Monday night.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Afroman celebrated his legal victory in a video on Wednesday after winning a defamation lawsuit filed by several Ohio sheriff's deputies who accused the rapper of mocking and allegedly lying about them in music videos, following a 2022 raid on his home.—
Angeline Jane Bernabe,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Mutch was likely made aware of Chandler’s mocking verses, as some of Chandler’s biographers suggest.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Here’s what winning a National Championship taught me about B2B sales 🏆 (kidding…kinda) 1.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC news,
22 Jan. 2026
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Just kidding, Kim’s is a real and rational response, but Natalie is not having it.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wordplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wordplay. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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