as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
the belief that soda is made out of acid is just piffle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to muddle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of piffle
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
The whole story now seems like so much piffle, except for the sons who lost their mother and a princess who lost her life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2021
People who are too cowardly to put their names behind their allegations are hiding in the shadows, using the anonymity of dark money laws to try to raise doubts in the minds of voters by spreading inflammatory charges that amount to piffle.
—cleveland, 12 Sep. 2021
It’s a not-quite-living imitation of a movie, a self-parody that lacks even a touch of humor—because, at the slightest sting of wit, its entire membrane of fakery would burst and leave hardly a piffle of vapor behind.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2021
To note that Gloria!, the directing debut of Italian actor-singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario, is vapid, pseudo-feminist, sentimental piffle would be entirely accurate.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The Ritz, a smart London hotel where Margaret Thatcher spent her last days, is in fine fettle, turning a neat annual profit and valued in the region of £800m—not bad for a property bought for a piffling £75m in 1995.
—The Economist, 31 Oct. 2019
Noun
That may not sound like a virtue, but in a world where horror comes either overloaded with metaphor or reduced to bloody piffle, Cregger valiantly navigates an unnerving middle way.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
The whole story now seems like so much piffle, except for the sons who lost their mother and a princess who lost her life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2021
People who are too cowardly to put their names behind their allegations are hiding in the shadows, using the anonymity of dark money laws to try to raise doubts in the minds of voters by spreading inflammatory charges that amount to piffle.
—cleveland, 12 Sep. 2021
It’s a not-quite-living imitation of a movie, a self-parody that lacks even a touch of humor—because, at the slightest sting of wit, its entire membrane of fakery would burst and leave hardly a piffle of vapor behind.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2021
To note that Gloria!, the directing debut of Italian actor-singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario, is vapid, pseudo-feminist, sentimental piffle would be entirely accurate.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
And what The New Yorker saw happening most of all was Charlie Chaplin, who figures prominently in the magazine’s first year, in contexts ranging from pithy to piffling.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The Ritz, a smart London hotel where Margaret Thatcher spent her last days, is in fine fettle, turning a neat annual profit and valued in the region of £800m—not bad for a property bought for a piffling £75m in 1995.
—The Economist, 31 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffle
Noun
-
Crucially, the eggs were fittingly fluffy, none of that rubbery nonsense that plague lesser burrito slingers.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
6 Nov. 2025
-
All’s Fair is girlboss nonsense.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
However impressively efficient the American strike may have been, the president’s motives have been muddled.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The situation might be a bit more muddled by the US wanting to resume nuclear testing.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That’s the whole point of that process of aging and using garbage bags and paint.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2026
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Raising the city’s garbage fee was another structural solution that aldermen and the mayor opted to avoid because of similar political difficulties.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Sofa cushions, pillows, and throws would be fluffed and tidied and nearly all surfaces would receive a quick dusting.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
2 Nov. 2025
-
The brand recommends setting aside 30 to 45 minutes to fluff the flame-retardant branches for the most realistic result.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
When firefighters arrived at the scene, multiple cars and piles of rubbish were on fire.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
One hurdle for these editors is that far-right hate is more conducive to digital slop, both because algorithms prize outlandish ragebait and because the tribalistic ideas themselves are low IQ rubbish.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The reason for the big deficit was another special teams blunder for the Giants, but an impressive Patriots rep as Marcus Jones ran back a punt from Gillan 94 yards for the game’s first touchdown.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Dec. 2025
-
In each episode, Goldstein or one of his fellow-producers explores a particular problem connected to someone’s past—an actor baffled by the blundering director of his first movie; a woman traumatized by a bizarre homecoming-queen mixup in high school—and tries to help resolve it.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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While there are some moments of excessive silliness, the filmmaker mainly finds the proper balance throughout, resulting in a winning movie that should satisfy a fairly wide age group.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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The silliness of this analysis could at least be matched by a silliness in tone.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Jerry's approach is so mind boggling.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Raising windshield wipers is a practice that likely boggles those unaccustomed to winter weather.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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