as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
friends had left the risqué message on his voice mail as a practical joke
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of practical joke
Ernie Ernie is known for his playful, free-spirited nature and his love for practical jokes, especially at the expense of his best friend, Bert.
—
Casey Clark, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025
Some guessed that excessive Taser incidents could be officers fiddling with the weapons out of boredom or sparking them as a practical joke.
—Nate Rosenfield, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
The constant attention, however, soon became overwhelming for the family, with some fans taking things too far with practical jokes related to the show.
—Gil MacIas, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Baseball players are notorious for playing practical jokes on one another.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Casey Clark, Parents, 16 Jan. 2025
Some guessed that excessive Taser incidents could be officers fiddling with the weapons out of boredom or sparking them as a practical joke.
—Nate Rosenfield, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
The constant attention, however, soon became overwhelming for the family, with some fans taking things too far with practical jokes related to the show.
—Gil MacIas, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Baseball players are notorious for playing practical jokes on one another.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for practical joke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for practical joke
Noun
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The digital prank consists of a bait-and-switch maneuver in which someone opens a disguised hyperlink containing the music video to Astley's song.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
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Green Goblin Pumpkin pranks are this mischievous supervillain’s signature move.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
30 May 2025
Noun
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However, there is a trick for using both of these operations together.—
Paul Smith-Goodson,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Thalberg was a wunderkind, and one of the tricks of being a wunderkind is to leverage a youthful aura—selling the Kind to increase the Wunder.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Steiner has plenty of experience with drivers under his watch in F1 getting involved in controversial incidents.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
14 June 2025
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The two men got into several heated spats over age, experience and personal integrity during this week’s second and final candidates’ debate on Thursday.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2025
Noun
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Every adventure, every challenge, has only strengthened our bond, reminding us the best part of this journey is doing it together.—
Shelly Peterson,
Travel + Leisure,
3 June 2025
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Australia was ranked as the fifth-best country in the world in 2024, according to U.S. News, primarily due to its high scores across various matrices, including quality of life, social purpose, and adventure.—
Alex Ledsom,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Practical joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/practical%20joke. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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