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
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
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
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
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 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
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
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
Though often dismissed as superstitious piffle, ghosts have proved surprisingly durable.
—The Economist, 28 Oct. 2017
The Economist, 31 Oct. 2019
Noun
Too often, the competing streaming algorithms at Netflix, Max, and Amazon Prime Video push a smattering of undifferentiated piffle.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2025
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
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
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 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
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
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
Though often dismissed as superstitious piffle, ghosts have proved surprisingly durable.
—The Economist, 28 Oct. 2017
Verb
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
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Everyone will be there — except Lydia, who Joseph dispatches on a nonsense errand to D.C.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
6 May 2025
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The sequel has more glamour, more trouble and maybe a bit too much nonsense 1 Comments The first Simple Favor, from 2018, was a playful, shallow mystery most notable for casting the lovely, languid Blake Lively as a cynical, devious clothes horse named Emily Nelson.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Fresh mint can be steeped in teas, muddled for cocktails, or blended into desserts.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
8 May 2025
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The easiest and most expensive way is to buy Scrappy’s Firewater Tincture, but there’s a half dozen ways to get heat into a drink, like muddling a pepper in the tin, or infusing the spirit.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
3 May 2025
Noun
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Any actor that’s been working for over three decades has a giant garbage bag filled of pilots.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
15 May 2025
-
Bears are generally solitary, shy animals but are food-driven and often find easy meals in garbage bins.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2025
Verb
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The first half of the clip shows 14-week-old Leo with a small tail that looks highly unlikely to ever fluff out.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
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Both Grimaldo and centre-back Jonathan Tah fluffed their duels in the build-up to Heidenheim’s second big chance of the game on 18 minutes, before they were forced to go long and turnover possession from the resultant goal kick, penned in by an adventurous pressing scheme.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
10 May 2025
Noun
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And oftentimes, these cheap items end up as rubbish.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2025
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This never got past the drawing board stage, but the idea kept cropping up again and again with many variations on a circular shape and performance that spanned from interesting to rubbish.—
David Szondy,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Gene and Wendell wouldn’t start to look for me until dark, and this bear was nothing to blunder into at night.—
Howard Copenhaver,
Outdoor Life,
23 Apr. 2025
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From this starting point, a global recession was a very low probability, but the Trump administration has blundered into one.—
Mike O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Use it to find and retrieve stray nuts or bolts in any crevice.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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Without that pollination, almond trees produce only 200 pounds of nuts per acre.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Being in Paris and feeling that energy of the world was kind of mind boggling.—
DeMarco Williams,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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The singer-songwriter added that most of her romantic relationships blossomed from close friendships, and that the concept of a romance that doesn’t come from a friendship or creative partnership boggles her mind.—
Stephen Daw,
Billboard,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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