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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of chaff
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 2 June 2025
In other words, nearly nine-tenths of all primetime impressions were chaff.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 29 May 2025
In French air force service, the Mirage 2000-5F flies with a combination of a Serval radar warning receiver, a Sabre jammer and an Eclair chaff and flare dispenser.
—David Axe, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
What’s more, cramming the same number of pixels into a much smaller area introduces other challenges that can generate technical errors, such as noise (electronic chaff) and blooming (light spilling off the sides of the pixels), which in turn lead to image degradation.
—Sally Wiener Grotta, IEEE Spectrum, 19 Apr. 2012
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
These preambles separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of Maron’s fans, though, which is the wheat and which is the chaff in skipping in the intros versus listening to them remains to be seen.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 2 June 2025
In other words, nearly nine-tenths of all primetime impressions were chaff.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 29 May 2025
In French air force service, the Mirage 2000-5F flies with a combination of a Serval radar warning receiver, a Sabre jammer and an Eclair chaff and flare dispenser.
—David Axe, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
What’s more, cramming the same number of pixels into a much smaller area introduces other challenges that can generate technical errors, such as noise (electronic chaff) and blooming (light spilling off the sides of the pixels), which in turn lead to image degradation.
—Sally Wiener Grotta, IEEE Spectrum, 19 Apr. 2012
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Jenner, 28, began teasing the song earlier in the day on Monday, sharing the cover art in a post to her Instagram account.—
Amy McCarthy,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
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SpaceX teases a return to eye-catching booster landings After using most of its fuel and propelling Starship toward space, the Super Heavy on Monday safely broke away from the upper Starship spacecraft and veered back toward Earth.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Egan, who was nominated for her role as Chelsea Lawson in The Young and the Restless, which she's played since 2011, joked about her chances to win this year in an Instagram post following the nominations.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra joked.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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Okay, kidding about that last part.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Preparing the frozen turkey is easier than brining and roasting your own, just make sure to take thawing time into consideration for the big meal.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
15 Oct. 2025
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Sear, simmer and roast all in the same pot.—
Nora Colomer
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Do not let the dashing green velvet suit, the yellow leather gloves, the silk cravat or the pencil-thin mustache, a tonsorial touch that suggests the matinee idols of yesteryear, fool you.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
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But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s the norm.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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