as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
a joshing response to my earnest question
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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
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Recent Examples of joshing
H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
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
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
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Literally toxic lesbians — kidding.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Just kidding - but honestly not sold on him being the best player on a championship caliber team.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On Monday, eternal troll 50 Cent leaned into the breakup chatter on Instagram, joking that Diggs lost both the Super Bowl and his girlfriend.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The two began to argue over each other, as Bessent said the president was joking.—
Fatima Hussein,
Fortune,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Fifteen years later, Black is having the last laugh.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2026
-
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
-
OpenAI has been teasing the introduction of ads for weeks.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Dunkin' has been teasing the Big Game ad for some time.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
What seemed like banter becomes character revelation.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
9 Feb. 2026
-
For Conan O’Brien, an old hand whose podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is a big player in the field, witty banter and appropriately leading queries come naturally; O’Brien also has plenty of pals on, but has a knack for turning their back-and-forth into a deeper examination of their friendship.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Language There’s some crude language, jesting, and mature comedic themes, but but nothing the modern tween or teen hasn’t seen or heard before.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
8 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
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Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Joshing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/joshing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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