as in joke
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
their tongue-in-cheek persiflage is sometimes mistaken for an exchange of insults by people who don't know them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persiflage
None of this will keep Republicans and conservatives from attacking the reconciliation bill with smoke, mirrors and persiflage.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2022
As Nixon’s political strategist, Kevin Phillips, told the New York Times in 1970:
All the talk about Republicans making inroads into the Negro vote is persiflage.
—Jane Coaston, Vox, 12 Oct. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persiflage
Noun
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Here’s why and what happened CT proposal noted halfway across globe and becomes butt of jokes.—
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Sarah Sherman became the butt of a joke in Johansson's musical monologue, with the MCU alum suggesting Sherman had been axed from the show without her knowledge.—
Noun
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With time, their caustic raillery transforms into sincere attachment.—
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French’s evocation of place, a rural way of life and overall creepiness are superb, as is the dialogue, a festival of Irish raillery and repartee.—
Noun
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Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
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In The Kitchen, Wesker tracked the decorum from friendly badinage to hostile vernacular that co-workers sustain just to get through the day.—
Noun
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Despite the verve of the film, there’s no there there — just an exercise in quippy banter and witty violence that works well enough to remind you of better movies.—
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Friendly banter and jokes were flying around the Loons’ dressing room after a dramatic 3-2 win over St. Louis City in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16 on Wednesday at Allianz Field.—
Noun
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Some of it comes from the ether… from the ether going after Ethan [laughs].—
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Customers come and go, street merchants stop in to peddle their wares and the hair braiders bicker over clients, laugh, dance, watch African soap operas on TV and work until their fingers bleed.—
Noun
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Most voters are worried about high prices for food, energy and housing, rather than their leader’s Oval Office repartee.—
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For all his entertaining repartee, Hedges is keenly aware of when to lock in.—
Noun
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There are some clever bits of humor thoughout th emovie, especially involving all the shenanigans of the French, but the Dane’s story ends on a decidedly dark note.—
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Gunn has promised a return to sincerity, but this is still unmistakably his movie so expect dashes of bizarro humor amid the spectacle and a few lovable weirdos around the edges (including Supes’ flying dog Krypto).—
Noun
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The athlete’s ability to shut out the massive Derby chaff and focus on the job at hand is one of the three great pillars, along with athletic talent honed by careful conditioning, that makes a Derby runner.—
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In French air force service, the Mirage 2000-5F flies with a combination of a Serval radar warning receiver, a Sabre jammer and an Eclair chaff and flare dispenser.—
Cite this Entry
“Persiflage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persiflage. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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