kerfuffle

noun

ker·​fuf·​fle kər-ˈfə-fəl 

plural kerfuffles

informal

: a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict

In all the kerfuffle, nobody seemed to have noticed Harry, which suited him perfectly.

—J. K. Rowling

It's not the only school with dress code issues; almost every week there's a local story about some kerfuffle over what kids wear to school.

—Belinda Luscombe

Did you know?

The Evolution of Kerfuffle

Fuffle is an old Scottish verb that means “to muss” or “to throw into disarray”—in other words, to (literally) ruffle someone’s (figurative) feathers. The addition of car-, possibly from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “wrong” or “awkward,” didn’t change its meaning much. In the 19th century carfuffle, with its variant curfuffle, became a noun, which in the 20th century was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to kerfuffle, referring to a more figurative feather-ruffling. There is some kerfuffle among language historians over how the altered spelling came to be favored. One theory holds that it might have been influenced by onomatopoeic words like kerplunk that imitate the sound of a falling object hitting a surface.

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of kerfuffle in a Sentence

predictably, the royal scandal caused quite a kerfuffle on Fleet Street

Recent Examples on the Web

Patti LuPone, fresh off the set of And Just Like That…, has caused an internet kerfuffle with her astute (and deliciously eloquent) jabs at costars, former lovers, theatergoers, and even Times Square pedestrians in her recent profile in The New Yorker. —Raven Smith, Vogue, 28 May 2025

Other highlights include a jab at Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports for their kerfuffle at the NFL Scouting Combine, and a seemingly positive mention of former KU quarterback Jason Bean (at the expense of the Colts’ Anthony Richardson). —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2025

So the former Maryland center was dismayed to see how a two-week kerfuffle at his former school resulted in the departures of athletic director Damon Evans, men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard and five players. —Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 1 Apr. 2025

But the real thrust of the whole argument is one Dorit says to Kyle in the middle of the kerfuffle. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for kerfuffle

• duffel
• duffle
• muffle
• ruffle
• scuffle
• shuffle
• truffle
• reshuffle

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