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
-
Seinfeld was clearly teasing, but sure enough, several headlines reported it as gospel with perhaps a mention three paragraphs in that it was intended to be humorous.—
Jenelle Riley,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2025 -
From teasing his retirement to becoming a minister and everything in between, here’s a look at the Hollywood star’s year of surprises.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
Fox News,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
For myself and many of my classmates, the four-story Forever 21 in Times Square was the most exciting part of our senior-class trip to New York City—not joking!—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
18 Mar. 2025
-
And, everyone was joking about it behind his back.—
Todd Nordstrom,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Goldberg continued before asking her co-hosts their opinions in a sarcastic tone.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Where Jackie is sarcastic, cynical, and all sharp edges, Zoey is enthusiastic and warm.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Guthrie’s buddy Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) in visiting him, and Bob walks into the room looking quizzical.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 Dec. 2024
-
And there were some quizzical looks and whispers about the guy walking around the Peoria Sports Complex in restricted areas.—
Kevin Acee,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Chaffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaffing. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share