1
as in fumbled
to make a mistake
unnerved by her earlier missteps, the skater fluffed on the final jump as well
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in blew
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I completely fluffed the introduction by calling the boss's wife by the wrong name
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fluffed
The forward, who enjoyed a prolific second half of the season loaned to Roma by Aston Villa, hit a post early on but then fluffed a huge chance.
—
Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Sofa cushions, pillows, and throws would be fluffed and tidied and nearly all surfaces would receive a quick dusting.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
The tiniest requests were dispensed with the utmost care; rooms were primped and fluffed three times a day; special requests for excursions efficiently booked; and dietary preferences noted and recalled with precision.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
Then tumble dry on no-heat with tennis balls to keep them fluffed.
—Nashia Baker, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
Hours later, the calf, fed and fluffed, took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family’s two children.
—Dylan Lovan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Hours later, the calf, fed and fluffed, took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family's two children.
—CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
For Jonathan Anderson’s vision of beauty at his first Dior women’s show in October, Guido Palau fluffed up models’ natural texture, not dissimilar from the windswept waves and pre-Raphaelite curls the hairstylist created for Veronica Leoni’s September Calvin Klein debut.
—Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 3 June 2026
Sofa cushions, pillows, and throws would be fluffed and tidied and nearly all surfaces would receive a quick dusting.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
The tiniest requests were dispensed with the utmost care; rooms were primped and fluffed three times a day; special requests for excursions efficiently booked; and dietary preferences noted and recalled with precision.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Mar. 2026
Then tumble dry on no-heat with tennis balls to keep them fluffed.
—Nashia Baker, Martha Stewart, 19 Feb. 2026
Hours later, the calf, fed and fluffed, took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family’s two children.
—Dylan Lovan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Hours later, the calf, fed and fluffed, took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family's two children.
—CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
For Jonathan Anderson’s vision of beauty at his first Dior women’s show in October, Guido Palau fluffed up models’ natural texture, not dissimilar from the windswept waves and pre-Raphaelite curls the hairstylist created for Veronica Leoni’s September Calvin Klein debut.
—Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fluffed
Verb
-
Maye tossed eight interceptions and fumbled eight times last season.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
10 June 2026
-
Dart fumbled a shotgun snap on the goal line in a situational period later in the practice.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Once the opening whistle blew, all the focus turned to the field.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
-
After someone blew a hole in the Nord Stream Pipeline deep under the Baltic Sea in September 2022, the global media debated a geopolitical whodunnit.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Weiss, best known for her work as an opinion journalist and the launch of her site The Free Press, has stumbled in her new role in large part due to a lack of experience with TV operations.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
9 June 2026
-
In the fall of 1995, hunters stumbled on Josette’s bones in the woods near rural Carmel, an hour north of the Bronx.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Anisimova got to within two points of the finish again, with Parry serving at 5-6, but then muffed a short, low backhand long.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
30 May 2026
-
Critics also complain that Dodge, known for its muscle cars, muffed its transition to hybrid power systems.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Britain’s Katie Boulter and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over Lacoste signs during their early round matches.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
7 June 2026
-
Drawing 0-0 at home with Brentford in March, the visitors should have conceded a penalty and been put down to 10 men when Tavernier was tripped in the area by Michael Kayode.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Less than two hours after sunrise, with the shadows still blue and slanting hard in a dense growth of balsam firs and spruces, the baby bird blundered into a fine black net strung along the ridgeline of Mount Mansfield, at 4,393 feet Vermont’s tallest mountain.—
Madeline Bodin,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fluffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluffed. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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