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
Pillows with embellishments should be hand-fluffed and air-dried.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2025
Aggie Beever-Jones fluffed her lines on multiple chances, failing to connect with a through ball from Keira Walsh and only weakly meeting a cutback from Sjoeke Nusken.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
After completing the quick tutorial, Harper quickly fluffed her hair and gave the camera a subtle pose before ending the clip.
—Kayla Grant, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2025
Aggie Beever-Jones fluffed her lines on multiple chances, failing to connect with a through ball from Keira Walsh and only weakly meeting a cutback from Sjoeke Nusken.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
After completing the quick tutorial, Harper quickly fluffed her hair and gave the camera a subtle pose before ending the clip.
—Kayla Grant, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fluffed
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the curtain came down, Hilty waved and blew kisses to the crowd.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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LaFleur has one year remaining on his contract, and his job status came into question after the Packers blew an 18-point fourth-quarter lead in Saturday night’s 31-27 playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That was until about a month before Adams' wedding, when her mother, April, stumbled upon the outfit while cleaning out some boxes in storage.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Nick Woltemade came on, stumbled over his own feet and struggled for involvement.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The sure-handed Doubs muffed the recovery with less than two minutes remaining and the Packers leading by 7.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Robinson muffed the second-half kickoff to pin the 49ers at their 12.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The pair embraced each other in the tunnel before kick-off, but shortly before half-time, Salah tripped Mane by the team benches, causing tensions to overflow.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
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Dellandrea was injured in the Sharks’ game on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets as his right leg struck the post after he was inadvertently tripped while driving to the net.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fluffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluffed. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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