as in badinage
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
Luke had to put up with a lot of raillery from his sister the first time he asked a girl for a date
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of raillery
With time, their caustic raillery transforms into sincere attachment.
—
Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 13 May 2021
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.
—Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2020
Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raillery
Noun
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The action flows, the badinage is fast and fun.—
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Each bus has a pair of hosts, whose badinage is corny but crowd-pleasing.—
Noun
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The Spartans got the last laugh for now, too, taking both games.—
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Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader’s influence and drawing laughs from the audience.—
Noun
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If that means being the frequent butt of jokes for his age, that's fine, too.—
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Try to ski with a friend, who might distract me with a story or a joke.—
Noun
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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.—
Noun
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Jennifer Aniston's social media followers were treated to some banter between the Friends alum and her costar Courteney Cox — not as Rachel and Monica, but themselves.—
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Alana and Danielle rush towards the dresses and pose beside them, before kicking off the sisterly banter that is a constant throughout the fitting.—
Noun
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None of this will keep Republicans and conservatives from attacking the reconciliation bill with smoke, mirrors and persiflage.—
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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.—
Noun
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Over two decades after the original, the cast reunited with enthusiasm, celebrating the humor and heart that made the film resonate for generations.—
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These songs smartly aim much higher than mere shock value, and that makes the humor all the deeper.—
Noun
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Brooks’s years honing his craft writing prickly characters and witty repartee ensures that not all of this scans as mindless escapism.—
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The repartee arrived ahead of the reunion’s kiss-off date in Brazil this weekend.—
Cite this Entry
“Raillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raillery. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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