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
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
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
Noun
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
Verb
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffle
Noun
-
The other side in a debate with common sense is nonsense.—
Danielle Kurtzleben,
NPR,
22 Oct. 2025
-
That kind of no-nonsense mentality cuts right through all the nonsense and puts the focus on the work.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Together the flavor is muddled, slightly discordant, but alone the Irish whiskey gets to sing, its apples and pears and slight malt and gentle touch a perfect foil to the zesty front palate of the lemon and the deep finish of the almonds.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
25 Oct. 2025
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But the two ballot initiatives, which were somehow muddled with other issues like homelessness, failed that same November, when a majority of voters rejected them.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
After an effort to create a Falls of the Ohio national park fell short in 1967, Kentucky and Indiana officials struggled to stop the falls from becoming a garbage dump.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Generally, what happens to the White House’s trash is secret—at least as of 2018, which was apparently the last time the federal government released any information on where Oval Office garbage goes.—
Nancy Walecki,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
The tree came with helpful instructions that guided you to fluff from the interior branches out the outermost branches.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
This was due to the incredible amount of rubbish that had been left to pile up inside.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts blundered in his late bullpen choices, allowing the Phillies to make it 4-3 in the ninth inning, which is the way the game ended.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Did Netanyahu blunder into the most dangerous rupture in U.S.–Israel relations since Dwight Eisenhower forced Israel out of Sinai?—
Dan Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This recipe takes a simple pumpkin cake and turns it into a wonderfully decadent dessert with a creamy, spiced filling and whipped topping with caramel, toffee bars, and nuts.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Add nuts and seeds to your diet.—
Merve Ceylan,
Health,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The tragedy side of things is addressed rather offhandedly — occasionally the movie will remember the boggling grief and betrayal at its center, only to shrug it off again just as quickly.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
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The magician boggled audiences with his card tricks and fantastical illusions.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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