How to Use jocular in a Sentence

jocular

adjective
  • Then the jocular Schneider was replaced by a screaming tyrant.
    — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
  • That’s because of her bright and jocular storytelling.
    — Mj Franklin, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Others praised her jocular nature and playful sense of humor.
    — Kelly Corbett, House Beautiful, 5 Aug. 2020
  • Speaking at a state dinner at the White House, Charles seemed to be in a jocular mood.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 12 May 2026
  • Arnold, who has short red hair and a jocular vibe, is a former Army staff sergeant who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, 9 July 2019
  • To make up for that, Rice adopts a mostly jocular tone, playing up the playfulness of the cast of eccentrics.
    — David Benedict, Variety, 18 Aug. 2021
  • Barkley is jocular, thoughtful, self-aware and rigorous about making eye contact.
    — Ben Baskin, SI.com, 18 Apr. 2018
  • The video ricochets back and forth between these two modes, alternately jocular and macabre.
    — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 11 May 2018
  • His articles had a rambling, jocular quality and were laced with frank references to a drug habit.
    — Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2019
  • Differences between groups in things like height are rarely cause for prejudice beyond a jocular level.
    — The Economist, 7 Nov. 2019
  • Theroux is the perfect guide for this journey, which might have collapsed under its own weight with a less jocular presenter at the helm.
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 31 July 2024
  • The interviews were jocular, an approach that seemed tactless, given the film’s subject matter.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Infantino presided over the events with jocular asides and instant recall of previous matches and scores.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
  • The portly, jocular Gibron presided over the worst Bears era ever (though there's still time for John Fox to catch up).
    — Joe Knowles, chicagotribune.com, 1 June 2017
  • Pitt’s chuckles throughout the often jocular interview hinted that perhaps Clooney’s tough words should be taken with a grain of salt.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2024
  • The cast is unmatched and the pace jocular, but its greatest trick is managing to maintain an element of uncertainty and suspense.
    — Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2024
  • Among them was Dushoun Almond, a jocular and self-deprecating man who goes by the nickname Bigga.
    — Maria Cramer Amir Hamja, New York Times, 4 June 2023
  • Mario, who has the bluff, jocular bearing of the classic urban politician, saw himself as a dealmaker who could skirt partisan ruts to achieve a historic breakthrough.
    — Alec MacGillis, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2016
  • Representatives of the condiment planned to spend the next few days filming their jocular efforts to get residents to remove mayonnaise from their homes.
    — Fox News, 28 Aug. 2018
  • At this point, a jocular Midwestern dad who advised a gay-straight alliance while coaching the high school football team is basically their worst nightmare.
    — Samantha Allen, Them, 7 Aug. 2024
  • After Wembanyama’s next attempt, all six coaches played a jocular game of hot potato amongst themselves before delivering the ball back to him at the foul line.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Despite being forced to watch the rest of the action, Arriaga maintained his jocular attitude on the sideline Tuesday.
    — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2024
  • But thin-skinned Trump, unlike the jocular, self-confident Reagan, cannot accept criticism gracefully, much less with a sense of humor.
    — Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 19 Feb. 2017
  • Among the cancer staff, there is special affection for the jocular sufferer, the one who makes light of lousy bowel movements and extols the spiritual tonic of neuropathy.
    — Christian Wiman, Harper's magazine, 20 Jan. 2020
  • There is jocular power, exchanged in handshakes and good-to-see-yas, and the soaring power embedded in the architecture, and the breathless, sidelong power of being in the know.
    — Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 29 June 2017
  • After building up a reputable name with their jocular nature, the Rosenthals are readying their first album Teddy Bear Fresh.
    — Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 3 May 2017
  • While the lead-up to the budget agreement included sometimes tense wrangling between the mayor’s office and the Council, Monday’s event was jocular and full of good cheer.
    — New York Times, 11 June 2018
  • Much of the stadium audience cheered, not having quite gotten from the inclusion of the late Douglas in his list that Jagger had moved into a more jocular part of his celebrity rundown.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Oct. 2021
  • One of the defendant students and his parents filed a motion to strike under the state’s anti-slapp law, saying the posts were jocular in nature, intended as a joke and that the statement the student posted was protected speech.
    — Kim Zetter, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2010
  • Entire families, with kids and dogs, took their holiday portraits — not with a jocular Santa, but with a snarling Krampus, standing in front of an Alpine forest backdrop.
    — Deena Prichep, NPR, 8 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jocular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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