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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of chaff
Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026
That makes the task of sorting wheat from chaff much more time-consuming for editors and referees, and also more technically difficult.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Eventually, at the supercomputer facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany, algorithms designed to spot RFI sorted the wheat from the chaff, reducing those 12 billion to 1 million, then 1,000.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Archaeobotanists find various parts of plants, including seeds, chaff, fruit pits, nutshells and cobs.
—Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
Others, though, found their way through the chaff and into the light.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026
That makes the task of sorting wheat from chaff much more time-consuming for editors and referees, and also more technically difficult.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Eventually, at the supercomputer facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany, algorithms designed to spot RFI sorted the wheat from the chaff, reducing those 12 billion to 1 million, then 1,000.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Archaeobotanists find various parts of plants, including seeds, chaff, fruit pits, nutshells and cobs.
—Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Or maybe, as some eyebrow-raising posts on social media jokingly teased, foreshadowing a possible papal presidential run?—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
12 Apr. 2026
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Bieber teased his headlining set with a preview performance at the Roxy in Los Angeles just over a week before the festival.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Since the film has such a robust call sheet, Nolan joked there were too many A-listers to bring to CinemaCon.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
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Former FedEx driver Tanner Horner apologized to Athena Strand’s family for killing their daughter, but also joked with his grandmother about selling his story for $1 million, according to evidence presented Monday during Horner’s capital murder trial in Fort Worth.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The interviewer said that Phillips, 65, was not kidding.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
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Anyone who doesn’t believe Lamar Jackson bears the pressure to fulfill his greatness with a Super Bowl ring is kidding themselves, NFL history and plain logic.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The cafe roasts its coffee beans on-site and excels at classics, including French toast and egg sandwiches.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
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Restaurants often serve it whole, typically roasted or grilled with simple ingredients like olive oil, lemon, garlic and fresh herbs.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And last month, the FBI announced that individuals associated with Russian intelligence were posing as Signal’s security department to fool American government officials and journalists into providing information that would allow the hackers to take over their accounts.—
Robert Faturechi,
ProPublica,
11 Apr. 2026
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Many a hunter has been fooled into giving up too soon.—
Bruce Brady,
Outdoor Life,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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