as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
made kidding remarks about her lack of skills in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in fooling
Related Words
1
as in teasing
to make fun of in a good-natured way
everybody's kidding me about my new haircut
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in jesting
to make jokes
he always kids around about his "wild and crazy" life as an accountant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kidding
Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 22 Jan. 2026
Just kidding, Kim’s is a real and rational response, but Natalie is not having it.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
While fictional, Joel’s compassion and care can’t help but feel like counterprogramming to the cynical everyday horrors of violent deportations, open bigotry from leading politicians, measles outbreaks and the return of whole milk (kidding!
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Just kidding, that’s next Sunday.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
On New Year's Eve, the weather was a balmy (kidding) 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and after spending hours braving the cold, peeling off our wet socks and stepping onto the warm wooden floors was pure heaven.
—Kayla Brock, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2025
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
The Aggies coach wasn’t kidding.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Okay, kidding about that last part.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 7 Oct. 2025
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
Here’s what winning a National Championship taught me about B2B sales 🏆 (kidding…kinda) 1.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 22 Jan. 2026
Just kidding, Kim’s is a real and rational response, but Natalie is not having it.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
While fictional, Joel’s compassion and care can’t help but feel like counterprogramming to the cynical everyday horrors of violent deportations, open bigotry from leading politicians, measles outbreaks and the return of whole milk (kidding!
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
Just kidding, that’s next Sunday.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
On New Year's Eve, the weather was a balmy (kidding) 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and after spending hours braving the cold, peeling off our wet socks and stepping onto the warm wooden floors was pure heaven.
—Kayla Brock, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2025
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
The Aggies coach wasn’t kidding.
—Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Okay, kidding about that last part.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 7 Oct. 2025
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
And the creators aren't kidding about the show's sci-fi elements.
—EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidding
Verb
-
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
-
In his verse, Bad Bunny directly addresses the chats, calling attention to Rosselló’s mocking of the dead from Hurricane María and his rampant homophobia.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
26 Jan. 2026
-
With a mocking appreciation for her overbearing family and caustic wit for her younger self, Yajia warmly works from the thesis that kids are extraordinarily weird, scary, and kind-of-dumb creatures who really don’t know any better.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
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
-
The fact that Middleton even thought to try a pass like that sparked some friendly ribbing in the locker room after the game.—
Dane Mizutani,
Twin Cities,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But it’s also taken a ribbing for recalls, which have been mounting rapidly.—
Andrea Guzmán,
Austin American Statesman,
14 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
-
His razzing of The Problem With Jon Stewart was the best grace note on the piece.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidding. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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