What does funning mean?
Funning is the gerund form of the verb 'fun', describing the act of playing, joking, or indulging in lighthearted foolery. It appears almost exclusively in informal contexts, most famously in the phrase 'just funning', which speakers deploy to signal that a preceding remark was made in jest and should not be taken seriously — much like 'just kidding'. The word has particular currency in American Southern conversation, though it is understood across the English-speaking world. Its connotations are warm and affectionate rather than mocking; funning implies shared amusement among people who know each other well. Though 'fun' itself began life as a somewhat disreputable slang term, frowned upon by Victorian arbiters of language, its gerund has settled into comfortable colloquial use. For writers seeking a folksy, familiar tone, 'funning' conveys easygoing humour that more formal words such as 'jesting' cannot match.
verbFunning is the gerund form of 'fun', meaning to engage in playful, lighthearted behaviour or joking; it is used chiefly in informal speech, often in the phrase 'just funning' to indicate that one is not serious.
- As a gerund of the verb 'fun': engaging in playfulness, jesting, or light-hearted fooling, typically in the informal phrase 'just funning' to signal that a remark should not be taken seriously.
"Relax, I'm just funning — I didn't mean a word of it."
"Stop funning with me and tell me what actually happened."
"He spent the whole afternoon funning on the beach with his cousins."
The word 'fun' was once considered a vulgar slang term by polite society — yet today we casually say 'I'm just funning' as if it had always been respectable.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of funning
Funning derives from 'fun', which emerged in late 17th-century English as a slang term likely connected to the older verb 'fon' (to fool or be foolish) and related forms such as 'fonn' and 'fondle', all pointing back to notions of foolishness and merriment. Once dismissed as vulgar cant, 'fun' gained respectability over the 18th and 19th centuries, and its verbal use — hence 'funning' — followed suit in colloquial speech.
Related word forms
How funning is actually used
Funning belongs almost entirely to informal register — casual conversation, regional dialects (especially American Southern English), and friendly banter. It would be unusual in formal writing. The common phrase 'just funning' carries an explicitly disarming function: it retracts seriousness after a joke or tease.
Easily confused with funning
'Cunning' means crafty or deceitful cleverness, whereas 'funning' refers only to playful joking and good-natured teasing.