POKES Synonyms: 352 Similar and Opposite Words

pokes 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of poke

as in jabs

a quick thrust please stop giving the cat pokes while it's trying to sleep

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as in blows

a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument you'd better shut up if you don't want a poke on the nose

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as in insults

an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings the constantly bickering husband and wife seem unable to let five minutes pass without an exchange of gratuitous pokes

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pokes

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of poke, chiefly Southern & Midland

as in pouches

a container made of a flexible material (as paper or plastic) the old warning against buying a pig in a poke

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pokes

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of poke

as in protrudes

to extend outward beyond a usual point saw his head poking through the window

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as in interferes

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern told him to stop poking into other people's business

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as in drags

to move or act slowly just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much

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as in crawls

to move slowly they were just poking along home

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pokes

Noun

At about 17 seconds, the driver’s leg pokes from the car and steps onto the deck of the bridge. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026 Earlier, authorities blocked access to excerpts of Goktas' show, including pokes at Erdogan, that were uploaded onto social media. — ABC News, 2 July 2026 If your everyday bra is worn out, replace it with this scalloped bra that provides padded support — without uncomfortable underwire that digs and pokes. — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026 Then in the second, Mattias Samuelsson was allowed to take multiple pokes at Jeremy Swayman before Geekie clobbered him. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026 Privacy may struggle within a buzzing neighborhood as the Sun in your contemplative 12th house pokes indulgent Jupiter in your 3rd House of Messages. — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Pepsi has for decades taken pokes at rival Coke in an endless array of commercials, but this time, the youth-skewing cola company really means business. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026 A lot of times, these hot-button issues that are pressed, those little pokes, are more nuanced than they’re portrayed. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 19 Jan. 2026 In the hands of the right provider, filler can enhance and even transform your face with just a few strategic pokes. — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 11 Nov. 2025

Verb

Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026 This is strong language, which pokes at our tribal memory of gasoline shortages from the 1970’s. — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Perched on a finger of land that pokes into Lebanon, Metula is usually crowded with tourists this time of year. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 23 June 2026 The self-aware series pokes fun at the teenage superhero subgenre, toying with the way superpowers interfere with daily life. — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026 Cloudy and rainy conditions prevail throughout the morning, then in the afternoon the sun pokes through with calm winds. — Kendrick Calfee june 16, Kansas City Star, 16 June 2026 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently isn’t amused by a new board game that pokes fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder star’s reputation for garnering foul calls at the hint of contact by an opposing player. — Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026 Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin. — Chris Feil, Vulture, 1 May 2026 Instead, the robot simply pokes through it. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokes

Noun

In 2025, a Kentucky man was killed after he was hit 27 times with a GLOVE by jail employees, on top of 13 jabs from a taser, which ultimately sent him into cardiac arrest.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Curt Cignetti does not shy away from conflict, as seen at Big Ten Media Days with his SEC jabs, and now with his scheduling comments about Notre Dame.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of jabs

Noun

The impact of yesterday’s sharp drop in South Korean equities transmitted further into US markets overnight, spreading selling sentiment and dealing heavy blows to US semiconductor and memory stocks.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Guevera also reportedly came to blows with Eddie Kingston in 2022, leading to Kingston’s suspension.

— Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of blows

Noun

He was subsequently dismissed by Dior and, months later, found guilty by a French court of making public insults based on origin, religion, race, or ethnicity.

— Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 31 Aug. 2026
The arrest came after Kelley Wolf had reportedly made a series of hostile social media posts, which featured insults and allegations against various friends and family, including her ex-husband, Wolf.

— Edward Segarra, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of insults

Noun

Peanut butter, whether in a jar or in small individual pouches, is another excellent food item to keep in the storm shelter as long as nobody in your home has a peanut allergy.

— Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2026
Students unlock their pouches, grab their devices and head home.

— Wakisha Bailey, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of pouches

Verb

Anything that protrudes above the shallow, insulating snow cover is more prone to being damaged by the cold and wind or eaten by wildlife, said plant ecologist Anne Bjorkman of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
Other animals on-site include a stable full of horses and Cowboy the tortoise, who is about the size of a lawnmower and whose head protrudes from what looks like a Venus flytrap made of bone.

— Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of protrudes

Verb

But as China’s 2018 detention of two Canadian citizens after Canada arrested a Huawei executive showed, the party readily interferes in the legal system when important interests are at stake.

— Mark Jia, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
Here’s when to watch and how to catch the best views before bright moonlight interferes.

— Julia Gomez, USA Today, 1 July 2026

Definition of interferes

Verb

As the conflict drags on, damage to the Middle East will extend far beyond infrastructure.

— Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
And while American and Israeli strikes have battered Iran for months, the conflict has also taken a toll on Pentagon resources and American lives as the war drags on.

— Steven Beynon, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026