1
as in fumbling
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 blowing
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 fluffing
Tidy living areas by fluffing pillows, folding blankets, and removing visible pet hair.
—
Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 16 Mar. 2026
Remove thick, dense piles of wet and matted leaves, or consider gently fluffing them up with a rake.
—Heather Zidack, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026
Following Odsonne Édouard's second-half equalizer, Tosin snatched three points for Lorient in the 65th minute, fluffing his initial attempt before rounding the Lens goalkeeper to score.
—ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Midfielder Pape Gueye netted the 94th-minute winner after Morocco’s star player Brahim Diaz had squandered the chance to win it for the home side by fluffing the last-gasp penalty in normal time following a 14-minute delay.
—Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
Simply spend 60 seconds straightening your sheets, smoothing your comforter or duvet, and fluffing your pillows, and marvel at how the chore instantly makes your entire bedroom look neater.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
The girl shook some snow out of her long hair, fluffing up her bangs with her fingers.
—Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
After fluffing his for about an hour, contributor DaVonne Bacchus says this Douglas fir looked lifelike and didn’t have any needle loss.
—Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
Others focused on fluffing tails, polishing hooves or clipping hair.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 16 Mar. 2026
Remove thick, dense piles of wet and matted leaves, or consider gently fluffing them up with a rake.
—Heather Zidack, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026
Following Odsonne Édouard's second-half equalizer, Tosin snatched three points for Lorient in the 65th minute, fluffing his initial attempt before rounding the Lens goalkeeper to score.
—ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Midfielder Pape Gueye netted the 94th-minute winner after Morocco’s star player Brahim Diaz had squandered the chance to win it for the home side by fluffing the last-gasp penalty in normal time following a 14-minute delay.
—Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
Simply spend 60 seconds straightening your sheets, smoothing your comforter or duvet, and fluffing your pillows, and marvel at how the chore instantly makes your entire bedroom look neater.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
The girl shook some snow out of her long hair, fluffing up her bangs with her fingers.
—Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
After fluffing his for about an hour, contributor DaVonne Bacchus says this Douglas fir looked lifelike and didn’t have any needle loss.
—Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
Others focused on fluffing tails, polishing hooves or clipping hair.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fluffing
Verb
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Nothing erodes confidence faster than fumbling for lockboxes, waiting on unresponsive listing agents, or showing a space that clearly doesn’t fit.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Last season’s Detroit Tigers endured the worst divisional collapse in history, fumbling an AL Central lead that reached 15 1/2 games in July.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The Field of 68 pointed out that each of Duke's last four NCAA Tournament losses came by blowing a double-digit lead.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Shopping on Rue La La feels a lot like stumbling across a secret sale, with some of the very best deals on designer goods, including swoon-worthy handbags.—
Jessie Quinn,
StyleCaster,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The bubble was the softest in recent memory, with one team after another stumbling late in the season.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Deadline revealed details of the changes last year, with executives dubbing the plan Project Ada.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Younger audiences, already accustomed to subtitles and dubbing through the global rise of K-pop, anime and other international media, proved especially receptive.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Right after Charlie Coyle began serving a tripping penalty, Alex Wennberg won a draw in the Blue Jackets zone back to Dmitry Orlov, who slid the puck over to Celebrini for a one-timer that beat Elvis Merzlikins 57 seconds into the third period.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Pittsburgh opened the third period on the power play with a two-man advantage after Ottawa took a late tripping penalty and got called early too many men.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Accused of ruining baseball with their big-spending ways the past two years, the noise has only gotten louder as a labor showdown looms.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
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To figure out its mechanism, Julius’s team had to somehow extract it from cells without ruining the very properties the researchers were trying to understand.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluffing. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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