jest
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
jest¹
- /d͡ʒɛst/
- /d͡ʒiːst/ dialectal, obsolete
- /d͡ʒɛst/ Early Modern
- /d͡ʒɛːst/ Early Modern
Rhymes with -ɛst
Where it comes from
From Middle English geste (“idle tale”), from Old French geste (“acts, exploits”), from Latin gesta (“acts, deeds”). Doublet of gest.
noun jests
-
An act performed for amusement; a joke.
I made that comment in jest; it wasn't serious.
Similar: prank, gag, laughingstock, banter, crack, wisecrack, witticism
- Someone or something that is ridiculed; the target of a joke. Your majesty, stop him before he makes you the jest of the court.
- A deed; an action; a gest. the jests or actions of princes
- A mask; a pageant; an interlude. He promised us, in honour of our guest, / To grace our banquet with some pompous jest.
jest²
adverb
- Pronunciation spelling of just So I jest called out to know what was up, and found it was Miss Vanholte's cowboys, who had been forced into the store by them rascally ruffins.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: jape, joke, jocularity, laugh, gag, wheeze, yak, quip, prank, kidding, witticism, game, tomfoolery, pleasantry, kid, charade
Translations
Every language
noun joke
| Español | broma, chiste |
|---|---|
| Português | gracejo, piada |
| Français | blague |
| Deutsch | Witz, Scherz |
| Italiano | scherzo, barzelletta, battuta, celia, arguzia, facezia |
| Русский | насме́шка nasméška, остро́та ostróta |
noun target of a joke
| Français | risée |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Witzfigur |
| Italiano | zimbello, oggetto di scherno |
| Русский | посме́шище posméšišče |
verb to tell a joke
| Español | bromear, bufonear |
|---|---|
| Português | gracejar |
| Français | plaisanter, blaguer |
| Deutsch | scherzen, herumalbern, albern, Spaß machen |
| Italiano | scherzare, affabulare |
| Ελληνικά | πειράζω peirázo |
| Русский | шути́ть šutítʹ |
Talk about this word "jest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jest. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. jest. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jest "jest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jest.Cite this
@misc{jest_2026,
title = {jest},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jest},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
