POKES Synonyms: 352 Similar and Opposite Words

pokes 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of poke

as in jabs

a quick thrust please stop giving the cat pokes while it's trying to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in blows

a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument you'd better shut up if you don't want a poke on the nose

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in insults

an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings the constantly bickering husband and wife seem unable to let five minutes pass without an exchange of gratuitous pokes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pokes

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of poke, chiefly Southern & Midland

as in pouches

a container made of a flexible material (as paper or plastic) the old warning against buying a pig in a poke

Synonyms & Similar Words

pokes

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of poke

as in protrudes

to extend outward beyond a usual point saw his head poking through the window

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in interferes

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern told him to stop poking into other people's business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in drags

to move or act slowly just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in crawls

to move slowly they were just poking along home

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 pokes

Noun

At about 17 seconds, the driver’s leg pokes from the car and steps onto the deck of the bridge. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026 Earlier, authorities blocked access to excerpts of Goktas' show, including pokes at Erdogan, that were uploaded onto social media. — ABC News, 2 July 2026 If your everyday bra is worn out, replace it with this scalloped bra that provides padded support — without uncomfortable underwire that digs and pokes. — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 Then in the second, Mattias Samuelsson was allowed to take multiple pokes at Jeremy Swayman before Geekie clobbered him. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026 Privacy may struggle within a buzzing neighborhood as the Sun in your contemplative 12th house pokes indulgent Jupiter in your 3rd House of Messages. — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Pepsi has for decades taken pokes at rival Coke in an endless array of commercials, but this time, the youth-skewing cola company really means business. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026 A lot of times, these hot-button issues that are pressed, those little pokes, are more nuanced than they’re portrayed. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 19 Jan. 2026 In the hands of the right provider, filler can enhance and even transform your face with just a few strategic pokes. — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 11 Nov. 2025

Verb

Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026 This is strong language, which pokes at our tribal memory of gasoline shortages from the 1970’s. — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Perched on a finger of land that pokes into Lebanon, Metula is usually crowded with tourists this time of year. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 23 June 2026 The self-aware series pokes fun at the teenage superhero subgenre, toying with the way superpowers interfere with daily life. — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026 Cloudy and rainy conditions prevail throughout the morning, then in the afternoon the sun pokes through with calm winds. — Kendrick Calfee june 16, Kansas City Star, 16 June 2026 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently isn’t amused by a new board game that pokes fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder star’s reputation for garnering foul calls at the hint of contact by an opposing player. — Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026 Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin. — Chris Feil, Vulture, 1 May 2026 Instead, the robot simply pokes through it. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokes

Noun

Now this is going to drive up the cost of your life, inconvenience you tremendously, and your child is getting six jobs -- six jabs, not two.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
The competitors’ jabs come as new polling released Friday shows Ramaswamy with a narrow lead in the toss-up race.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of jabs

Noun

The Fantasy Football Draft is that magical stretch of hours where friends, enemies and division nemesis all cram into one room to sling insults with the confidence of seasoned analysts.

— Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2026
That standard still holds for his frequent barrages of boasts, insults, threats, grouses and indecipherable dispatches via Truth Social.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of insults

Noun

As for the Speed, the museum returned three ceremonial objects (a rattle, a beaded pipe bag, and a beaded turtle amulet) and 21 other items, among them beaded pouches and bags, moccasins, a coup stick, a cradleboard, and a lance.

— Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
On the other hand, young people’s use of nicotine pouches – small pouches that are placed between the lip and gum and are available in different flavors and strengths – has risen over the past five years.

— Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of pouches

Verb

But as China’s 2018 detention of two Canadian citizens after Canada arrested a Huawei executive showed, the party readily interferes in the legal system when important interests are at stake.

— Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
Here’s when to watch and how to catch the best views before bright moonlight interferes.

— Julia Gomez, USA Today, 1 July 2026

Definition of interferes

Verb

Some of those embassy staff may start returning to their posts soon, however the State Department is still limiting the number of personnel in the Middle East as the war in Iran drags on.

— Greg Dixon, NPR, 21 Aug. 2026
But after years of unprecedented contributions to astronomy, the forces governing the cosmos are finally taking their toll as Earth’s gravitational pull slowly drags the telescope closer towards a point of no return.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pokes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokes. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pokes

noun (1)

noun (2)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on pokes

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

prowess

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

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

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

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

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

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

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes