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
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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
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
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
For the rest of us, this is where the wheat and the chaff separate.
—Bo Howard, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
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
For the rest of us, this is where the wheat and the chaff separate.
—Bo Howard, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Muller also indicated there were even more crimes — but only teased the details in his letters.—
Lauren Clark,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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The president has teased an endorsement, but hasn’t announced his preferred candidate.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Larson first thought Bronin was joking.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
23 Mar. 2026
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Bridges jokes that her staff are more nervous about a drop-by visit from her than from state inspectors.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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DeVos wasn’t kidding, and on Monday, in front of close friends and family, current and former Magic executives and employees and local community leaders, a plaque was unveiled with Martins’ name on it at the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame that’s located in Kia Center on the terrace level.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
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McKneely wasn’t kidding about the staples being removed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Arrange in a single layer and roast until potatoes are just fork-tender and starting to brown, 45–55 minutes.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
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Cover dish tightly with foil and roast 1 hour or until garlic is very soft and almost creamy in texture.—
C.W. Cameron,
AJC.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Don't be fooled, Fraser's first Oberon kegs of the season still went to good use, with Oberon Day bringing in serious business.—
Jack Springgate,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
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In 2007, Google fooled the world with 'Google Paper,' a service that would print your emails and mail them to you.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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