half-joking
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Shannon warned me, only half-joking, “Don’t fall for your building super.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
Sherry Ning, a writer in Toronto, was only half-joking when she recently tweeted, “The next counterrevolution is the return of whole milk.”
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2023
Mr Biffen, half-joking, dug himself an even deeper hole by referring to Sir Bernard as Downing Street's "rough-spoken Yorkshire Rasputin".
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2023
“That was fun for the fans. It stunk for the coaches,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said, half-joking.
From Washington Times • Nov. 24, 2022
She carried a bottle of Lysol in her car that she would often spray at random, only half-joking.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
