CHAFED Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words

chafed

verb

Definition of chafed next

past tense of chafe

as in irritated

to make sore by continued rubbing ill-fitting boots that had badly chafed my heels

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in eroded

to damage or diminish by continued friction constant stepping on a rope will gradually chafe it, rendering it unsafe for rock climbing

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in annoyed

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts nothing chafes us so much as those telemarketers who call during the dinner hour

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 chafed Council members have long chafed at their exclusion from an intergovernmental agreement between the city and MARTA that dictates how decisions are made within the More MARTA program established by voters in a 2016 referendum. —

Sara Gregory, AJC.com, 26 Feb. 2026 Consumers have chafed at some of the company’s integration of ESPN Unlimited, which is relying on cable providers to grant access to their subscribers and is absorbing some content that used to be available at no additional cost to traditional ESPN+ subscribers. —

Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 24 Feb. 2026 Advocates for those districts have also chafed at the proposal to allow magnet school tuition to rise. —

Theo Peck-Suzuki, Hartford Courant, 21 Feb. 2026 The same ambition that chafed SCLC leaders also led Jackson to make a run for the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 1984 and 1988. —

Zoe Christen Jones, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026 During a video conference call Tuesday, the Texas women’s basketball coach glowed about his club’s offensive prowess but chafed over a question about its suspect 3-point shooting and lamented the team’s turnovers and toughness deficiency. —

Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle, 28 Jan. 2026 In 2023, the writer Patricia Lockwood chafed at Wallace’s supposed sainthood in a long piece for the London Review of Books. —

Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026 On Wednesday, Emanuel chafed at the idea that those experiences would dampen enthusiasm for his future educational plans. —

Daniel C. Vock, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026 Young people have chafed under conservative rule and the stifling of political freedoms. —

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chafed

Verb

For a long time your political cartoons published in the editorial pages have irritated me.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Jan. 2026
The song, which reclaims a derogatory term for Venezuelan female migrants, was interpreted as defiant and irritated the Venezuelan president, then facing widespread reports of electoral fraud.

— Leonor C. Suárez, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2026