1
as in teased
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
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2
as in joked
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chaffed
And those advertisers that once chaffed at TV-MA content have been more willing to embrace racy fare in order to appeal to younger viewers who aren’t concerned with a few F-bombs or raw images.
—
Michael Schneider, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Michael Schneider, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaffed
Verb
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Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer behind such durable hits as Cats (1981), Phantom of the Opera, and Evita, has teased a new musical about the early 20th century theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, the Mona Lisa.—
Anne Doran,
ARTnews.com,
13 Apr. 2026
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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
Verb
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Bullock joked at CinemaCon, referencing Kidman's viral AMC ad.—
Saba Hamedy,
NBC news,
17 Apr. 2026
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In one string of messages, officers used the N-word to describe Mitchell’s relatives and joked about what would happen after Concannon and Chavez’s names were made public.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When Curt Cignetti was hired just more than two years ago, it was considered a smart move by the athletic department, but no one kidded themselves that Indiana was some sort of raucous fan sleeper cell just waiting to be activated.—
Will Leitch,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaffed. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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