TONGUE-IN-CHEEK Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

tongue-in-cheek

adjective

Definition of tongue-in-cheek

as in flippant

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of tongue-in-cheek The campaign also has a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 2019 college admissions scandal. — Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 16 Sep. 2026 The coach is photographed in a variety of tongue-in-cheek situations such as grilling, taking an ice plunge, beekeeping, working out and doing karate — all while wearing khakis. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026 There’s a tongue-in-cheek nature to some of the challenges to his decision (for instance, a performance art piece about a mother bidding farewell to her son). — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026 The ad is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Barr’s commitment to Kentucky, with the congressman jokingly buying in. — Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tongue-in-cheek

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-in-cheek

Adjective

But there is a saying in the military that leadership sets the tone, and when the most senior leaders are flippant at best, and cruel at worst, many will understand that to be the permissible standard.

— Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Kyles suggested, recalling her immediate response to the president’s seemingly flippant remark.

— Chris Quintana, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of flippant

Adjective

The excess of emotion often scans as winkingly facetious, a dramatization to demonstrate just how deeply a person loves books.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026
The first thing he was asked, by another reporter who witnessed the debate, was a facetious question of whether he’s given MVP any thought.

— Jared Weiss, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2026

Definition of facetious

Adjective

Her works are playful and often ironic, relentlessly experimental and not only genre-bending but form-bending, including Nox (New Directions, 2010), a box containing an accordioned elegy to her estranged brother after his death.

— Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Game 3 was their most sound, but in ironic fashion, the Rays used the long ball to take home a 4-3 victory and advance to the American League Championship Series.

— Ryan Morik OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of ironic

Adjective

As a piece of theater, the dialogue between the two men often lands on the heart like a wry, platonic romance — and the moments in which both take a stand against the bigotry of some of Seastone’s callers are suddenly and acutely poignant.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
And indeed Verity — directed with straightforward competence and a faint wry smirk by Michael Showalter and adapted by screenwriter Nick Antosca (Apple TV’s Cape Fear series) — is a mild lark for its first hour.

— Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of wry

Adjective

In the tradition of Warhol’s Factory, the outsourcing became the provocation itself—the era’s most cynical embodiment of art-as-commodity.

— Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
The administration’s hostility to the principle and mechanisms of international legal accountability makes eminent if cynical sense in light of its many transgressions.

— Anjali Dayal, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of cynical

Adjective

Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery.

— Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
My complexion tends to be dry in some areas and oily in others, so striking the balance between glow and grease can be tricky.

— Lucy Partington, Glamour, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of dry

Adjective

There are other things about this book that are insightful and poignant about the nature of being a human.

— Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
Grace Carroll gives a poignant performance as the Nightingale—borne aloft with arched back and trembling, outstretched hands by other dancers, who play thorns that pierce her breast—and Adam Elmes makes a seductively sinister Dorian Gray.

— Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of poignant

Browse Nearby Words

tongue

tongue-in-cheek

tongue-lash

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“Tongue-in-cheek.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-in-cheek. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tongue-in-cheek

adjective

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