Meaning & use

jesting

adjective·Advanced

Speaking or behaving in a playful, joking way rather than seriously.

See it in a sentence

He gave a jesting reply, so no one realized he was actually being honest.

Her jesting tone made it hard to tell if she meant the criticism seriously.

A note on using this word

Jesting is the present participle of jest and often appears as an adjective describing tone or manner rather than as a main verb.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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