tongue-in-cheek

ADJECTIVE

ironic and insincere

Synonyms

STRONGEST

amusing comic flippant humorous ironic irreverent jocular joking playful sarcastic satirical whimsical

STRONG

jokingly

WEAK

blithe clever comical dry facetious farcical flip funny in fun in jest ironical jesting joshing kiddingly laughable not serious pulling one's leg putting one on smart wisecracking witty

Antonyms

STRONGEST

respectful reverent serious unfunny

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.

The film tries to make a tongue-in-cheek commentary about how the “Scream” reboot pushed Neve Campbell to the back burner and focused on a new group of teenagers.

From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026

Elmo followed up with a tongue-in-cheek message on Thursday addressing the vitriol.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

They remain friendly enough for Kupp to reach out to Donald a few days ago with tongue-in-cheek advice to stay retired.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

Meanwhile, New York's Mayor Zohran Mamdani has signed a tongue-in-cheek executive order "temporarily repealing bedtimes" to encourage children to watch the late-night games.

From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026

She gave me an A on the written report, saying she liked my tongue-in-cheek approach to criticism, but warned me to clean up the language and watch my run-on sentences.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

tongue-in-cheek

Example Sentences

Related Words