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
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Recent Examples of josh
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
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Verb
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
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for josh
Noun
-
The site’s users took great joy in watching the feud in real time, responding to the showdown between the president and the world’s wealthiest man with jokes and memes.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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Surrounded by her animals at home, Lin watched re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, practicing the cadence of the words, the rising sound of a joke, the pacing of each phrase.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Roberts kidded Ohtani about gifting him when the modest record was inevitably broken, and the new Dodgers slugger obliged with the toy.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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Just kidding — although that would certainly get a reaction from Porsha — but there was a mysterious naked man seen from a nearby villa (??).—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
Noun
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There are a lot of fun moments during the annual Big Slick weekend in Kansas City, and the laughs are shared by the celebrities who take part as well as the audience at the softball game and the gala.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
5 June 2025
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More laughs ensued when Barton asked if Ulvaeus has ever asked AI programs to write ABBA lyrics.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2025
Verb
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For example, in an exclusive with Vanity Fair, Chu teases two brand new songs written by original Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz that will be featured in the film.—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
4 June 2025
-
As teased in the final moments of season 2, the next chapter of The Last of Us will be centered primarily on Abby.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
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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
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The most comprehensive sally, of course, is the administration’s drastic and abrupt cut in funding by the National Institutes of Health.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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More than 500 of them, in fact, from native whitetail deer to yaks, scimitar oryx, and water buffalo.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
28 Apr. 2025
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Zookeepers welcomed a new yak and now the baby and mama are bonding, Alaska officials said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacbee.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Josh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/josh. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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