Jesting

Spoken or done with humorous intent rather than literal seriousness.

Reach for it when signaling that words are playful while their surface meaning may mislead

His jesting complaint about the enormous slice made the baker laugh.

• playful

  tongue-in-cheek

  dry irony is meant to be recognized

  not when Tongue-in-cheek suggests concealed irony rather than open merry joking.

• everyday

  bantering

  friendly back-and-forth teasing is shared

  not when Bantering needs an exchange; one isolated comic remark cannot be called banter.

• everyday

  joking

  the most familiar label for humorous intent fits

  not when Joking can cover teasing or performance, while jesting sounds more literary.

• warm

  playful

  affectionate lightness matters more than the actual joke

  not when Playful does not explicitly tell the reader that a statement is nonliteral.

• formal

  facetious

  someone treats a serious subject with deliberate levity

  not when Facetious often carries disapproval and may make kind humor sound careless.

• literary

  waggish

  clever mischief suits an old-fashioned voice

  not when Waggish is obscure and sounds affected in ordinary conversation.

• serious
• literal
• solemn

• jesting tone

  Her jesting tone made clear that the challenge was affectionate.

• jesting remark

  A jesting remark broke the silence without mocking the mistake.

• jesting exchange

  Their jesting exchange showed how comfortable the new partners had become.

• Jestingly adv.

• Wiktionary, English adjective sense: joking or given in jest ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.