raillery

noun

rail·​lery ˈrā-lə-rē 

plural railleries

1

: good-natured ridicule : banter

2

: jest

Did you know?

Raillery is the anglicized form of the French word raillerie, which stems from the Middle French verb railler, meaning "to mock." Railler, which probably comes from Old French reillier ("to growl" or "to mutter") and ultimately from Late Latin ragere ("to neigh"), also gave us our verb rail. But rail and raillery are quite different in tone. Rail means "to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language," whereas raillery usually suggests cutting wit that pokes fun good-naturedly.

Synonyms

• backchat
• badinage
• banter
• chaff
• give-and-take
• jesting
• joshing
• persiflage
• repartee

Examples of raillery in a Sentence

Luke had to put up with a lot of raillery from his sister the first time he asked a girl for a date.

Recent Examples on the Web

With time, their caustic raillery transforms into sincere attachment. —Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 13 May 2021

French’s evocation of place, a rural way of life and overall creepiness are superb, as is the dialogue, a festival of Irish raillery and repartee. —Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2020

Some may feel, in this Trumpus Caesar summer, that such raillery, let alone the underlying idea of trying to understand why Americans have shot presidents, is an untoward or trite provocation. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 13 July 2017

Word History

Etymology

French raillerie, from Middle French, from railler to mock

First Known Use

1643, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

raillery

noun

rail·​lery ˈrā-lə-rē 

plural railleries

: an act or an instance of making fun of somebody in a good-natured way