as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
made jesting comments about my need for serious fashion advice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
lots of laughter and elbow-nudging jesting at family reunions
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in bantering
to make jokes
when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, "Surely you jest!"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jesting
Noun
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got in on the joke after his team captured the National League pennant for the fifth time in the past nine years.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025 -
Students embraced the joke, and before long, every game began with hundreds of tortillas soaring into the night sky as the whistle blew for kickoff.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Mackey reached out to Warren Buffett, who declined, joking about the poor brand fit between his Dairy Queen ownership and his junk food preferences.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
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Altman wasn't joking about the price of politeness.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Justine Lupe plays Joanne’s sarcastic best friend, sister, sometimes-advisor and podcast co-host Morgan Williams.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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As a model named Carl, stuck in a relationship corrupted by microcelebrity and Instagram view counts, Dickinson ticks with exasperation and sarcastic logic, his jaw clenched, his eyes wide and staring.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The piece signals transformation, but the spontaneous laugh turns luxury into connection; by the red-gown reveal, the necklace reads less like a trophy and more like a charm that’s worked.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
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According to showrunner and executive producer David Mirkin, these laughs sometimes just serve as a tool to make sure the episodes are the correct length for broadcast.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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,
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Noun
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In addition to some light-hearted banter between Thia and Dek, the trailer gives viewers a look at the treacherous journey ahead of them.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Nobody Wants This is back for a second season, providing not only good banter, but some pretty deep questions about faith and compatibility.—
NPR,
NPR,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
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Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
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How did Betty manage the scenes with Ophelia, with their bawdy repartee?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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No one is better built than Leavy, a crafty veteran sportswriter, for between-innings repartee, wry asides, and tossed-off ideas for improving her beloved sport—and maybe even keeping its ever-looming obsolescence at bay for another decade or three.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Jesting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jesting. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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