wordplay

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It seems at first too clever for the grim subject matter, riffing on wordplay around “jeans” and “genes,” like the controversial American Eagle advertisements starring Sydney Sweeney from the past year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

And Amy Nicholson of the LA Times concluded: "William Shakespeare wouldn't be wowed by this domestic drama about his home life back in Stratford-upon-Avon. Where's the action? The wit? The wordplay?"

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

Like a particularly manic solver, he attacks the subject in an across-and-down fashion, here contemplating the impact of AI on the game, there considering what role crossword-style wordplay had on Modernist writers like T.S.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

Does Ellie have any sort of sense of wordplay?

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

You’d make it perfectly literal, without any wordplay or comedy that would confuse preschoolers.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell