joshing 1 of 3

adjective

as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing a joshing response to my earnest question

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

joshing

2 of 3

noun

as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks for all his joshing, he can be very serious when he needs to be

Synonyms & Similar Words

joshing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of josh
1
as in kidding
to make fun of in a good-natured way don't get all hot and bothered! I'm just joshing you

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jesting
to make jokes a very outgoing man who joshes with everyone he meets

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 joshing
Noun
The humorous joshing and teasing that came out of their initial love just gets worse and worse. — H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Cranston and Essiedu convey a father-son bond of unusual closeness — hugging, play-fighting, joshing; but this physical proximity will be repeated at the end of the play to devastatingly different effect. — Demetrios Matheou, HollywoodReporter, 22 Nov. 2025 Cheryl — who jumped in the mosh pit briefly at the first party — hung out in the back, sitting on her walker and gently joshing Erika’s young son for wearing earplugs while a singer screamed into the microphone. — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 13 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for joshing
  1. joke
  2. kidding
  3. joking
  4. laugh
  5. teasing
  6. banter
  7. jesting
  8. badinage
Noun
  • The jokes have continued nearly nonstop — and not all are coming from the man in the can with a 20-point plan.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There is nothing, no drama, no insight, not even a joke other than the one NeNe makes about Porsha swimming in the lady pond.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of joke
Verb
  • But Guthrie wasn’t kidding, slipping into a yellow gingham dress before joining her co-hosts on the Today Show Plaza to greet visitors.
    — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
  • Just kidding, but seeing Angela’s team sweep Shamea’s at the Bailey Bowl basketball tournament was almost as satisfying as knowing Charles got to witness his former team’s historic win in person.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 22 June 2026
Definition of kidding
Verb
  • The three were smiling and joking, seemingly unaware of any impending attack, the images indicate.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The au naturel prix-fixes ignited controversy the moment the restaurant’s flyer started circulating on social media in late June, with most chatter ranging from joking to serious, bawdy to scandalized.
    — Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of joking
Noun
  • But there are plenty of affirmative laughs in her roughly 65-minute set, tickets to which are not cheap.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • There’s not enough conflict to drive the narrative, and not enough laughs to liven up the dead spots.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of laugh
Verb
  • Saturday Night Live breakout Bowen Yang opens the evening by teasing Chen about his dating life.
    — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026
  • In the video, Bunnia was shown a poster of Travis in her hospital room as a teasing preview of the singer's appearance.
    — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of teasing
Noun
  • Like that film, this new movie finds most of its sexiness in the chemistry and playful banter between its attractive stars.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Men are supposed to pay for dinner but also treat women as equals; to initiate flirty banter but never be creepy or aggressive; to be sturdy and masculine but also empathetic and thoughtful.
    — Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of banter
Noun
  • Hudson showed some subtle support for the jesting knocks to her boyfriend by reposting a clip of his final joke shared on Fox News' official X page.
    — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
  • No matter what happened, Dunham could not seem to help posting through it, her public persona one of infinite jesting confession.
    — Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of jesting
Noun
  • Left on their own, boisterous badinage between old school British thespian Shaw and giggly, hyper-ventilating wannabe movie star Dreyfuss has taken hold.
    — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
  • The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Definition of badinage

Browse Nearby Words

joshes
joshing
jostle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Joshing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joshing. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on joshing

Nglish: Translation of joshing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of salvo

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All