as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
a close-knit family constantly exchanging lighthearted joshes at the dinner table
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as in to joke
to make jokes
a very outgoing man who joshes with everyone he meets
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of josh
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
Anatole is a painter, an artform which photographer Lucien good-naturedly joshes him will soon be obsolete.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 27 May 2025
See which companies are just joshing on social media — and which one has a real deal for you!
—Brendan Le, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The family joshing and loving is great fun here; both Liss and Montana are terrific, live-wire young performers, thanks surely in part to Alex Mallory’s direction, and Rifai has given them a banquet of vibrant lines.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
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
Anatole is a painter, an artform which photographer Lucien good-naturedly joshes him will soon be obsolete.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 27 May 2025
See which companies are just joshing on social media — and which one has a real deal for you!
—Brendan Le, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
The family joshing and loving is great fun here; both Liss and Montana are terrific, live-wire young performers, thanks surely in part to Alex Mallory’s direction, and Rifai has given them a banquet of vibrant lines.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for josh
Noun
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Talk about the weather, add some jokes in there about some of the guys on the team and just stuff like that.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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The event, held at the Montana Hotel in Pétion-Ville, was the butt of jokes on social media amid questions over the group’s authority to act.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Don't kid yourself into thinking that claiming many new tax breaks will be simple.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
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Even Shelton, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist who won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at an Alcaraz-and-Sinner-less Canadian Open last summer, didn’t kid himself about being far off the pace that the world’s two best players have set.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Fifteen years later, Black is having the last laugh.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2026
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Seekers of Infinite Love balances big laughs with big feelings, and the cast delivers in a way that makes the film both distinctive and relatable.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The reggaeton icon briefly teased his performance in a trailer released by Apple Music in January 2026.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
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Trump teased his non-prediction in a post on TikTok last week.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
28 Dec. 2025
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Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.—
Greg Cote
December 20,
Miami Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
Noun
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The Uber initiative is the latest sally in a long war pitting plaintiffs and their lawyers against businesses, with legal fees as the battleground.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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Prices of stocks and bonds, along with long-term interest rates, have oscillated up and down in response to the daily verbal sallies from the White House.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
27 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Josh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/josh. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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