as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
a chaffing tone to Dad's discussion of my sister's new boyfriend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in teasing
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 funning
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaffing
Verb
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Gunn has been teasing this new feature for weeks, saying that his next project won’t be a direct sequel to Superman, but will feature characters audiences already know from his summer hit.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025 -
The radio host was set to return to his SiriusXM show this morning, after nearly a month of teasing a big reveal surrounding rumors that his show would be canceled.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Over 150,000 Facebook users liked Southwest Airlines’ post and many took to the comment section joking that Captain John was setting a high standard for his son-in-law, Quinn.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Longfellow’s departure is somewhat of a surprise given that he was seemingly being primed to take over the Weekend Update desk at some point after some successful stints behind the desk, joking about topics such as TikTok and Real ID.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.—
Leo Bertucci,
The Courier-Journal,
2 Sep. 2025
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In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Even an otherwise neutral comment can be contorted into a sarcastic retort, an insult or a counterattack.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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On the par-4 14th, Scheffler splashed out of a greenside bunker to 10 feet, missed the par putt, and then, without hesitation, threw a sarcastic fist pump toward the hole.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Louie is summoned to the apartment of Joe Black, a higher-up gangster played by John Malkovich with a manner so quizzical yet threatening that his voice just about quivers with unexpressed rage.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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Cue a quizzical look from Sting.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Chaffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaffing. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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