as in laughing
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
audiences might chortle gently during the movie's amusing bits, but there are few knee-slappers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 chortling
Regime leaders must be chortling over their surprising and unearned new international legitimacy.
—
Daniel B. Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
The nightingale flew around the fox’s head, the two of them chortling in their own indiscernible ways.
—
Hazlitt,
19 Nov. 2025
Against all of this allegedly heady stuff, the score—by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—intentionally jars us from encroaching drowsiness with chortling woodwinds and shardlike piano chords that are the aural equivalent of jagged Plexiglass off-cuts.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
29 Aug. 2025
Daniel B. Shapiro,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
The nightingale flew around the fox’s head, the two of them chortling in their own indiscernible ways.
—
Hazlitt,
19 Nov. 2025
Against all of this allegedly heady stuff, the score—by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—intentionally jars us from encroaching drowsiness with chortling woodwinds and shardlike piano chords that are the aural equivalent of jagged Plexiglass off-cuts.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chortling
Verb
-
There are companies creating life-like avatars that can fill in for you in virtual meetings, nodding at the right time and laughing when someone tells a joke.
-
On April 24, 2022, the model shared a cute candid of themselves on Instagram, leaning into one another and laughing.
Verb
-
On a recent afternoon outside the temple in central Kerala, Raman stood motionless as two children played, giggling and hugging its trunk.
-
Donna and Swift were seen hugging and giggling in their suite at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium alongside the singer's A-list pals.
Verb
-
And The Rest Is Football(Netflix, YouTube) is the latest podcast to make the leap to the small screen, with former England internationals Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and the ever-chuckling Micah Richards serving up a daily helping of World Cup analysis alongside the usual chummy banter.
-
Baffert watched it all on his laptop from California, chuckling as the board showing the horse’s price flaked out momentarily.
Verb
-
The couple’s relationship began with a friendship bracelet and a podcast shout-out in July 2023, and by September Swift was screaming profanities in support of her new favorite football player.
-
As Rayan began screaming, al-Ajeen, whose family has long farmed in the area, picked up his son and began walking again.
Cite this Entry
“Chortling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chortling. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
