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
Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
In Figure 2, after the corn stalks are plucked, the cobs are separated and the chaff pulverized.
—Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 26 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
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
Compared with the seeds of almost every other plant, grass seed is highly palatable, especially for a dexterous ape whose hands can slough off the chaff.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
In Figure 2, after the corn stalks are plucked, the cobs are separated and the chaff pulverized.
—Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 26 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
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Noun
-
Firefighters then evacuated residents from a nearby apartment complex, and others combed through debris of the two-story building, searching for people who may have been trapped.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
Three bodies were found in the debris of the complex.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
The quest to find the better joke, the stronger laugh—that’s reason enough to keep on living.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
29 May 2026
-
These people had huge laughs Thursday morning over their airport Bloody Marys after realizing their words were treated as if serious.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
In a new interview with People, Cipriano teased what viewers can expect of the Logan and Grace storyline.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
31 May 2026
-
The Beats brand is no stranger to using high-profile sports stars to tease new releases.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Kimmel joked on his June 2 show, referring to the wave of artists dropping out of the Great American State Fair.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
Now, there is hard, physical proof of our years of collaboration—not a third child, as some have joked, but not not some kind of offspring.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires to garbage and self-service bicycles in the streets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
-
Protesters were later seen pelting ICE vehicles with kitchen towels and trash as garbage littered the ground.—
Gloria Pazmino,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Their tart banter in the Netflix hit doesn't rise to the toxic levels of their Roses relationship; in fact, the characters’ relationship ends on a more bittersweet and reflective note, as opposed to the movie’s grim comeuppance.—
Jesse Hassenger,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
-
Trying to have a bit of a laugh and banter with it.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Zucker watched the video and thought Harper — more known for his brush with greatness as a two-time NL MVP — was kidding.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
-
Gilpin isn’t kidding about the haunting.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
The dust cleared as both Grandes Americanos were on equal footing.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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Justice Department officials, however, helped turn this particular dust-up into a confusing reminder of the circus that surrounded Carroll’s legal crusade against the president, which began in 2019.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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