Synonyms of gaff

gaff 1 of 2

noun

ˈgaf 

1

as in blunder

a socially improper or unsuitable act or remark

you can expect to make some amusing gaffs until you get more familiar with the language

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blunder
• mistake
• gaffe
• indiscretion
• error
• solecism
• faux pas
• impropriety
• familiarity
• flub
• miscue
• fumble
• misstep
• goof
• offense
• slipup
• stumble
• discourtesy
• slip
• incivility
• howler
• lapse
• misstatement
• miscalculation
• muff
• misjudgment
• oversight
• misconception
• boner
• misunderstanding
• misapprehension
• foul-up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• attention
• gesture
• courtesy
• formality
• civility
• pleasantry
• form
• amenity
• manners
• mores
• proprieties

2

as in mistake

an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy

double-check the new writer's grammar, as it's typically riddled with gaffs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mistake
• blunder
• error
• gaffe
• flub
• fumble
• trip
• inaccuracy
• stumble
• miscue
• brick
• clanger
• misstep
• goof
• bobble
• boob
• slip
• screwup
• slipup
• clinker
• fault
• lapse
• fluff
• oversight
• boo-boo
• blooper
• howler
• pratfall
• snafu
• misunderstanding
• bloomer
• boner
• misstatement
• miscalculation
• misinterpretation
• misjudgment
• misconception
• misconstruction
• misreading
• misdescription
• misapprehension
• miscomprehension
• foul-up
• misimpression

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accuracy
• precision
• correctness
• exactness
• exactitude
• strictness
• perfection
• preciseness
• infallibility
• inerrancy

gaff

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to trick

to cause to believe what is untrue

a sleazy schemer who gaffed gullible people into thinking they could get rich with a money-making opportunity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trick
• fool
• deceive
• bluff
• hoax
• sucker
• kid
• gull
• tease
• sting
• gammon
• mislead
• dupe
• con
• catch
• spoof
• bamboozle
• humbug
• delude
• cheat
• juggle
• misinform
• suck in
• snow
• buffalo
• snooker
• hoodwink
• cozen
• string along
• hornswoggle
• burn
• take in
• misguide
• fake out
• beguile
• do a number on
• have on
• have
• pull one's leg
• stick
• swindle
• pull the wool over one's eyes
• lead one down the garden path
• put on
• chisel
• rook
• hustle
• skin
• defraud
• bleed
• flimflam
• mulct
• euchre
• diddle
• fleece
• shortchange
• squeeze

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• undeceive
• show up
• reveal
• expose
• debunk
• unmask
• uncover
• tell
• divulge
• disclose
• unveil
• disabuse
• disillusion
• uncloak
• disenchant

2

as in to cheat

to rob by the use of trickery or threats

the operators of the traveling carnival had gaffed patrons with a variety of time-honored ruses

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cheat
• sting
• pluck
• hustle
• squeeze
• stick
• screw
• beat
• trick
• swindle
• sucker
• bleed
• deceive
• short
• fiddle
• flimflam
• shake down
• con
• chisel
• rook
• ream
• do
• skin
• nobble
• stiff
• defraud
• mulct
• diddle
• euchre
• fleece
• chouse
• hose
• rip off
• cozen
• fool
• skunk
• victimize
• shortchange
• clip
• bilk
• exploit
• take for a ride
• wrench
• nick
• thimblerig
• take to the cleaners
• sell a bill of goods to
• betray
• gouge
• do in
• gull
• extort
• bitch
• dupe
• overcharge
• wring
• double-cross
• wrest
• soak
• milk
• rope (in)
• bamboozle
• fast-talk

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gaff

Noun

Finally, when the huge tuna rolled belly-up on the surface, Flory stuck it cleanly with a hand gaff and got a rope around its tail. — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 14 Jan. 2026

Cockfighting draws scrutiny, too, with homes searched for steroids or gaffs — the sharp blades that get strapped to a fighting rooster’s feet. — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Dec. 2025

Our crew were the boat’s recently wed co-owners, Watson and Stella Marina, experienced sailors who bought the 1938 Danish gaff cutter in 2020 and now run trips out of Cornwall and the west coast of Scotland from April to September. — Alexander Barlow, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2025

Crowe leaped from the boat with a fishing gaff and, after several fumbles, managed to flip the trembling, bloodied creature onto the bow deck. — Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025