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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to muddle
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Dissimilar Words
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
-
This will be dismissed as frivolous, anthropomorphic nonsense.—
Shaw Walters,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Will some higher court, either the Manhattan Appellate Division or the state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest bench, please stop this nonsense?—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Peterson's lawyers argued his role as an armed school resource officer did not amount to a caregiving post needed to prove child neglect in Florida, and that the response to the shooting was muddled by poor communication.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
At the moment, however, the apex of the 2026 draft order is muddled.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Installed on the former garbage dump bounded by Sunset, Lewis, Western and Glen Flora avenues, there are now 20,000 solar panels.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes, then fluff and cover to keep warm.—
Gretchen McKay,
Twin Cities,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes, then fluff and cover to keep warm.—
Gretchen McKay,
Boston Herald,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Piles of human scraps offer a bottomless buffet to wildlife, and to access that bounty, animals need to be bold enough to rummage through human rubbish but not so bold as to become a threat to people.—
Marina Wang,
Scientific American,
14 Nov. 2025
-
Helga once wrestled down a drunk fisherman in the Café, a man of above-average size, and then threw him out like a piece of rubbish; Jens thus transfers most of his weight automatically to her; who is this kid, by the way?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Our party walked single file to minimize the chance of blundering onto private property.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
7 Jan. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Hellmann’s is hoping a healthy does of silliness will help its Super Bowl recipe.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But The Moment is too self-conscious to really commit to such silliness.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Advertisement All eyes will be on Ilia Malinin, for the stunning array of quadruple jumps that the Virginia native pulls off with a mind boggling ease.—
Alice Park,
Time,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Jerry's approach is so mind boggling.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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