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
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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
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
-
The Republican governor even poked a light joke at the energy surrounding the teams during his opening remarks.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
11 July 2025
-
Sriram peppers her debut with offbeat characters, sometimes giving them names that are jokes in and of themselves.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
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,
Washington Post,
14 Oct. 2020
Noun
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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
-
In The Kitchen, Wesker tracked the decorum from friendly badinage to hostile vernacular that co-workers sustain just to get through the day.—
Armond White,
National Review,
30 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Keen home cook Erin Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer — but ended with three guests dead.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
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Directed and co-written by Shane Black, who made a name for himself with other smart-alecky films like the aforementioned Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and 2013's Iron Man 3, the film crackles with wise-guy banter and rich atmosphere.—
Sarah Sprague,
EW.com,
2 July 2025
Noun
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During the day out, the two took a dip in the pool and appeared to share laughs throughout the day.—
Starr Bowenbank,
People.com,
11 July 2025
-
The two had several tough plays against one another, and shared plenty of laughs on the court.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
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His brother Richard Rosenthal is Somebody Feed Phil’s executive producer and showrunner; their on-camera repartee is a golden fan-favorite.—
Laura Manske,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Most voters are worried about high prices for food, energy and housing, rather than their leader’s Oval Office repartee.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
30 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
After all the fussing and fidgeting exerted in trying to nail just the right mix of comic book action, comedy and pathos, the movie emerges as a tone-deaf mishmash of underdeveloped characters, half-baked humor and unhatched plotting drenched in CGI overkill.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
12 July 2025
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Clarkson delivered with her trademark blend of down-to-Earth humor and out-of-this-world vocals.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
Noun
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Visitors can see the operations of the thresher and the simple mechanics used to separate grain from chaff.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2025
-
These preambles separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of Maron’s fans, though, which is the wheat and which is the chaff in skipping in the intros versus listening to them remains to be seen.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Persiflage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persiflage. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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