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
-
Denver recovered the ensuing onside kick, but, alas, on the next play, Steve Sewell fumbled the ball back to Buffalo.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
21 Jan. 2026
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Maye finished 16 of 27 for 179 yards but had an interception and fumbled four times, losing two in cold conditions with snow and rain falling throughout the game.—
Kyle Hightower,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As the curtain came down, Hilty waved and blew kisses to the crowd.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
-
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
-
Reporters lapped up the stories of the prepared piano that the young James stumbled into by sheer intuition, never having caught wind of John Cage.—
Sasha Geffen,
Pitchfork,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The woolly devil was spotted by a volunteer for Big Bend National Park in Texas, when on a spring hike, Deb Manly stumbled across a small hairy-looking flower with two maroon florets sticking out like devil’s horns.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Robinson muffed the second-half kickoff to pin the 49ers at their 12.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Today, Morgan responded to some Good Morning Britain banter in which the show’s presenters jokingly suggested Morgan might have tripped after imbibing.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
19 Jan. 2026
-
The former was able to push the puck to Wyatt Kaiser and then tripped Mittelstadt, which allowed Kaiser to skate into the open slot unabated.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fluffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluffed. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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