joke 1 of 2

noun

ˈjōk How to pronounce joke (audio)
Definition of jokenext
1
as in laugh
something said or done to cause laughter he was known for his hilarious jokes

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in parody
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something her rendition of the national anthem is a joke

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fool
a person or thing that is made fun of having lost his looks and his voice years ago, these days he's just a show business joke and fodder for late-night comedy

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

joke

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to fun
to make jokes he was known for his ability to joke about his lack of anything resembling a social life

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2
as in to tease
to make fun of in a good-natured way oh, don't get offended, I was just joking you

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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 joke
Noun
His handsomeness was part of the joke, as well as the cushion for it. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 First was comic and content creator, George Brett Olson, who did a breakdown (watch it below) accusing an AI Instagram account with 300,000 followers of seemingly ripped off his joke word for word. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
The photos went viral and inspired memes, with social media users joking that Affleck's exasperated expression summed up the frustrations of 2020. — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Unless the industry in question is peak grunge, Fox is joking. — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for joke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joke
  1. laugh
  2. parody
  3. fool
  4. kid
  5. tease
  6. joking
  7. caricature
  8. target
Noun
  • But acknowledging a property’s cheesy elements isn’t the same as generating consistent laughs from the situation.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Among the biggest laughs of the ceremony came during Friml’s take on an awards-show in memoriam.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of laugh
Noun
  • The Black performer remains the template of the parody, a canvas to characterize and deform in whatever way the meme-maker sees fit.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Did that feel like a parody of my ego, or also a way to make fun of it?
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of parody
Noun
  • Don’t let the building’s modern facade fool you, the rooms are minimalist yet warm with wood flooring, floral wallpaper, and hand-knotted rugs.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In these labors, Carson is akin to two other recent laureates, Jon Fosse and László Krasznahorkai, our foremost writers of holy fools.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of fool
Verb
  • But kidding aside, AI used in the right way can make people smarter about their health, more so than most realize.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Pursuing big goals while parenting shows kids the value of hard work and resilience.
    — Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of kid
Verb
  • When appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, the Canadian pop singer teased the single.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Mahomes began teasing the collection last week with several posts on her Instagram.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of tease
Noun
  • Russell was mentioned in that speech, but in a joking way, playing off of how frequent Oscars director Glenn Weiss, who won for his role helming the 2018 Academy Awards telecast, had used his speech to propose to his then-girlfriend.
    — Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Arch Manning's joking comments at a news conference about a fake video of coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe erupted in controversy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of joking
Noun
  • Conversations around racial caricature have evolved; what was edgy feels painfully passé.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • As is the case with most election cycles, the claims and counterclaims about the ballot measures being voted on in California this time around are largely based on caricatures of the measures themselves.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of caricature
Noun
  • The Commission’s proposed 46% target falls short of that ambition, and of its own analysis, which identifies 50% as the economically optimal pathway to 2040.
    — Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Still, Musk has a track record of setting optimistic release targets for Tesla products, only to miss them by years.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of target

Phrases Containing joke

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Cite this Entry

“Joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joke. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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