Definition of pufferynext
as in hype
information released to the media that is designed to gain public attention or support for a person, business, or cause the newspaper's local stories are often thinly disguised puffery for area businesses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 puffery But management also decided against trying to brag about these network-level changes with new status-bar icons or other sorts of customer-experience puffery. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026 Vendor puffery may also be legal, but that means the IT customer needs a healthy skepticism of the typically too-good-to-be-true promises vendors make. — IEEE Spectrum, 23 Nov. 2025 The defendants have been described by one defense lawyer as being video gamers and recreational gun enthusiasts who were engaged in puffery, nothing else. — Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 3 Nov. 2025 Which is why, having failed to stop the coming spending cuts with preening puffery and shameless dishonesty, defenders of taxpayer dollars for public media have pulled out the last tool out of their political toolbox. — Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
  • While the game lived up to the hype, the quarterbacks did not.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Geese had an atypical, if kind of old-fashioned, run on the hype train for a young rock band.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For a heavy metal band, this kind of publicity usually works in our favor.
    — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Among the major exits are Kelly Caton, the senior director of series awards strategy and publicity, and director of entertainment communications Dominic Pagone.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • In April, the Senate Leadership Fund announced a record $342 million advertising program across eight states designed to protect the GOP majority and expand the map.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In fact, his language has been so thoroughly absorbed by advertising, fashion, design, merchandising, that all visual culture arguably owes him a debt.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Around $40 million in Republican spending has gone toward negative advertisements, compared to only around $20 million from Democrats.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Around $40 million in Republican spending has gone toward negative advertisements, compared with around $20 million from Democrats.
    — Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster