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
Relevance
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
This allows the grains to hydrate fully before fluffing.
—
Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 7 May 2026
And as mentioned above, your curls must be 100% dry before breaking them up, fluffing them, or touching them.
—Catharine Malzahn, Glamour, 4 May 2026
And despite captain Wendie Renard fluffing the initial penalty, she was afforded a second chance because Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar had stepped off her line.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 3 May 2026
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
Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 7 May 2026
And as mentioned above, your curls must be 100% dry before breaking them up, fluffing them, or touching them.
—Catharine Malzahn, Glamour, 4 May 2026
And despite captain Wendie Renard fluffing the initial penalty, she was afforded a second chance because Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar had stepped off her line.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 3 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fluffing
Verb
-
Like, for example, calling a risky trick play in South Bend that resulted in wide receiver Makai Lemon fumbling on first-and-10 from the Notre Dame 37-yard line down three points in the fourth quarter.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2026
-
The whole series comes down to the Cavs fumbling away Game 1.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
25 May 2026
-
The Avs lost Game 3 in stunning fashion, blowing a three-goal lead in a 5-3 loss.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
Coming shortly after Thierno Barry had put them 3-1 up, both Tarkowski and Keane switched off from kick-off to hand a stumbling City a lifeline.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Villatoro — who previously held high-level positions at Mattel and Smashbox Cosmetics — remembered stumbling upon the brand at Sephora’s annual beauty event Sephoria long before she was brought on.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
The place is a sound-effects recording studio, with three sound designers creating and dubbing aural effects — footsteps on a sandy beach, flapping bird wings — onto pieces of film footage.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
14 May 2026
-
On the international front, Buen Camino was sold to Netflix which released it on April 29 in 226 countries, dubbing it into more than 14 languages.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
McCartney has some good company this time, anyway, in his cheerful time-tripping.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 May 2026
-
Just the usual catching a skate blade or tripping over a tree root.—
Risa Jampel,
STAT,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
This situation is ruining my good feelings about the club.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
-
When sound came in, people were writing all these articles about how sound is ruining films.—
Andy Hazel,
IndieWire,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fluffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fluffing. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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