Roget's Thesaurus

#842. Wit

Nouns

wit, humor, wittiness; sense of humor; attic wit, attic salt; atticism; salt, esprit, point, fancy, whim, drollery, pleasantry. farce, buffoonery, fooling, tomfoolery; shenanigan [U.S.], harlequinade etc. 599; broad farce, broad humor; fun, espieglerie [Fr.]; vis comica [Lat.]. jocularity; jocosity, jocoseness; facetiousness; waggery, waggishness; whimsicality; comicality etc. 853. banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid-pro-quo; ridicule etc. 856. jest, joke, jape, jibe; facetiae [Lat.], levity, quips and cranks; capital joke; canorae nugae [Lat.]; standing jest, standing joke, private joke, conceit, quip, quirk, crank, quiddity, concetto, plaisanterie [Fr.], brilliant idea; merry thought, bright thought, happy thought; sally; flash of wit, flash of merriment; scintillation; mot [Fr.], mot pour rire [Fr.]; witticism, smart saying, bon-mot, jeu d'esprit [Fr.], epigram; jest book; dry joke, quodlibet, cream of the jest. word-play, jeu de mots [Fr.]; play of words, play upon words; pun, punning; double entente, double entendre [Fr.] etc. (ambiguity) 520; quibble, verbal quibble; conundrum etc. (riddle) 533; anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade. old joke, tired joke, flat joke, Joe Miller.

Verbs

joke, jest, crack a joke, make a joke, jape, cut jokes; perpetrate a joke; pun, perpetrate a pun; make fun of, make merry with; kid, kid around, fool around; set the table in a roar etc. (amuse) 840. retort; banter etc. (ridicule) 856; ridentem dicere verum [Lat.]; joke at one's expense. take in jest. [make a joke which is not funny] bomb, fall flat; go over like a lead balloon.

Adjectives

witty, attic; quick-witted, nimble-witted; smart; jocular, jocose, humorous; facetious, waggish, whimsical; kidding, joking, puckish; playful etc. 840; merry and wise; pleasant, sprightly, light, spirituel, sparkling, epigrammatic, full of point, ben trovato [It.]; comic etc. 853. zany, madcap. funny, amusing etc. (amusement) 840.

Adverbs

jokingly, in joke, in jest, in sport, in play.

Phrases

adhibenda est in jocando moderatio [Lat.]; gentle dullness ever loves a joke [Pope]; leave this keen encounter of our wits [Richard III]; just joking, just kidding; surely you jest!."