piffle 1 of 2

Definition of pifflenext

piffle

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of piffle
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 The fact that all those involved in discussing this question have heads full of tosh and piffle does not make for productive debates. — Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2020
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
  • Same goes for Chock Chapple (6), because life’s too short to be typing that nonsense in a search field.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • What Trump is serving up is precisely the kind of paternalistic nonsense that women have fought against for the past century, now applied to nation states.
    — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The all-or-nothing nature of sports gets muddled with asterisks and different permutations.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When the deck is muddled, the thinking behind it usually is too.
    — Andrei Grachev, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • If the brain’s plumbing doesn’t work properly, research shows, cellular garbage accumulates, and a cleaner brain may be a healthier one.
    — Richard Sima, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026
  • After the ad went viral on social media, Republican candidate for state school superintendent Sonja Shaw called it creepy, weird garbage.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Rangel fluffed Reyna’s cross that led to Hall’s opening goal.
    — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Use dryer balls or tennis balls to fluff and evenly dry your duvet after washing.
    — Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Twisted Teens are far from rubbish, but that isn't stopping them from playing in the trash for their latest music video.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
  • This comes at the expense of no movement in the wrist, but to be fair, having the lightsaber pointed in any other direction would look rubbish.
    — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Verb
  • In fact, both Gemma and Alice repeatedly blunder through their interactions.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Only a blundering idiot could spoil such an alliance and threaten damage to Florida’s economy.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Perhaps keen to that silliness, Showalter fills the early stretch of the film with amusing details.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Tom Hulce’s silliness undercut the heft of Mozart’s genius in the film.
    — Doni Wilson, Houston Chronicle, 30 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The scope and ingenuity of scrying continually boggle the mind.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Hamaguchi told Deadline that the team painstakingly cemented Vincent and Yuffie into irrevocable mainstays while also giving Zack (not available in my preview) an increasingly important role in the trilogy’s larger time-boggling mystery.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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