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

• commotion
• stir
• disturbance
• fuss
• turmoil
• hurry

Examples of kerfuffle in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

In the midst of the Colin Kaepernick kerfuffle in 2016 and into the following season, NFL ratings fell 8% and 10%, respectively. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Triangulate your data points and develop winning (and maybe sanity-preserving?) joint strategies! Intrigue and Crumpets • Remember what a kerfuffle was brewing over the U.S. relationship with Denmark due to Kate needing Hal to come out against limits on oil drilling licenses in the North Sea? —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025

Mahomes was clearly not happy about it when asked bout the kerfuffle in a postgame interview on NBC Sports. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Oct. 2025

The Disney exec in the running to succeed Bob Iger was at the center of the kerfuffle. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 13 Oct. 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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