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.

Armstrong later clarified that he had been joking and hadn’t traded mentions on the call himself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

Liz thought her friend had been joking when she said that the musician had worked for a historical figure.

From BBC • Nov. 2, 2025

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Aiden, who told them he had been joking.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024

But Fakler testified that she had been joking and had made the comments before homicide investigators told her that her husband may have been having an affair.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 5, 2021

I know Mom had been joking in our backyard, but that’s how I would have imagined them in the end—lying side by side in our garden bed together.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera