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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puffery
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
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
The defense also has claimed that prosecutors are casting commonplace entrepreneurial puffery as a crime and singling out Watson, a Black founder in a tech world where African American executives have been disproportionately few.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 13 June 2024
But overall, there should be a substantial amount of sizzle — or at least copious amounts of hot air and puffery — coming from next week’s upfront presentations.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
The defense also has claimed that prosecutors are casting commonplace entrepreneurial puffery as a crime and singling out Watson, a Black founder in a tech world where African American executives have been disproportionately few.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 13 June 2024
But overall, there should be a substantial amount of sizzle — or at least copious amounts of hot air and puffery — coming from next week’s upfront presentations.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
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From the pitch to your living room, the hype is real.—
Casey DelBasso,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The hype might be fading … for now.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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After the videos of two former DOGE staffers went viral earlier this month, a federal judge on Friday ordered the videos be taken down over concerns that the staffers faced threats and harassment because of the publicity.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
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As Hunter Harris noted, since Wonka opened on Christmas 2023, Chalamet has essentially been on a never-ending publicity tour.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Nexstar has engaged in an aggressive lobbying campaign for the merger, arguing that the combination is necessary to compete against the tech giants that have siphoned off so much local advertising revenue in recent decades.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
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By participating in the contest, the winners agree to have their name, voice, or likeness used in any advertising or broadcasting material relating to this contest, and to sign a publicity release, affidavit of eligibility and release of liability prior to acceptance of the prize.—
CBS LA Staff,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In 2024, Treasurer Vivek Malek partnered with Torch to place advertisements on its device, but later removed the ads after backlash.—
Jack Harvel,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2026
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But the origins of vasectomies becoming linked to March Madness appear to trace back to a marketing campaign by an Oregon urology clinic, which took out a radio advertisement in the late 2000s.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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