tongue-in-cheek

adjective
UK: /ˌtʌŋ.ɪnˈtʃiːk/
US: /ˌtʌŋ.ɪnˈtʃiːk/

  1. If you say something tongue-in-cheek, you say it in a joking way, not seriously.

    1. He made a tongue-in-cheek remark about her new hat.
    2. The movie is a tongue-in-cheek look at the world of fashion, exaggerating trends.

Synonyms

sarcastic facetious jocular wry ironic
tongue-in-cheek adverb

  1. Said or done in a way that is humorous and not serious.

    1. It was a tongue-in-cheek comment, I didn't mean it seriously.
    2. The play uses tongue-in-cheek humor to address serious social issues lightly.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "tongue-in-cheek" is /ˌtʌŋ.ɪnˈtʃiːk/ in British English and /ˌtʌŋ.ɪnˈtʃiːk/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "tongue-in-cheek": sarcastic, facetious, jocular, wry, ironic.

Example usage of "tongue-in-cheek": "He made a tongue-in-cheek remark about her new hat.". More examples on the page.