as in debris
discarded or useless material
there's a lot of chaff in this book, and the reader should be on the alert for it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in laugh
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
I got no end of chaff about my accent when I was in the military
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to tease
to make fun of in a good-natured way
chaffed her about the brightly colored shirt she had received as a gift
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chaff
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Jan. 2025
Not wind but a chaff of pollen choking in that whirl.
—David Baker, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
Not wind but a chaff of pollen choking in that whirl.
—David Baker, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
That’s where Quaker parenting has stepped in for me, providing a simple way to separate the wheat from the child-development chaff.
—Gail Cornwall, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
This efficiency allows for additional capacity regarding chaff and flare countermeasures, enhancing the aircraft’s ability to evade enemy defenses.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Jan. 2025
Not wind but a chaff of pollen choking in that whirl.
—David Baker, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
Not wind but a chaff of pollen choking in that whirl.
—David Baker, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
That’s where Quaker parenting has stepped in for me, providing a simple way to separate the wheat from the child-development chaff.
—Gail Cornwall, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Prevost was so dedicated to becoming a priest, his brother would tease him about being the pope.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
11 May 2025
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However, the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has teased an agreement over the terms for such a ceasefire as Kyiv's allies meet in the Ukrainian capital this weekend.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Porter Township School Corporation Superintendant Stacey Schmidt joked that despite Union Township Bearcats being their arch-rivals, her community did not support a data center being thrust upon them.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
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In November, Liam joked on X that Oasis had, in fact, recorded a new album.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2025
Verb
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But just kidding, actually $14 'cuz the orange tags were 50 percent off.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 May 2025
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All kidding aside, Armstrong believes Steen will be ready in 2026.—
Jeremy Rutherford,
New York Times,
7 May 2025
Verb
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Typically, the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, and spleen of the animal were roasted over the altar fire and consumed by participants then and there.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
16 May 2025
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And he was notoriously roasted for serving fast food, including but not limited to McDonald’s fare, to visiting championship athletic teams in 2019.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
13 May 2025
Verb
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Don’t let the name fool you: Apple TV+’s new science-fiction series Murderbot isn’t actually about a rampaging robot killing everything in sight, though Alexander Skarsgard’s SecUnit certainly ponders the idea from time to time.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
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One common jailbreak involved fooling ChatGPT by asking it to role-play as a different AI—one that had no rules and was allowed to write phishing e-mails.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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