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piffled

verb

past tense of piffle
as in gummed (up)

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffled
  1. screwed up
  2. muddled
  3. blundered
  4. fouled up
  5. boggled
  6. murdered
  7. botched
  8. impaired
Verb
  • That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Every time a player screwed up, the coaching staff and his teammates received a text message, calling out both the infraction and the guilty party.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of screwed up
Verb
  • Affleck’s attempt to bind these three narratives into some grand conclusion, or lesson, about the state of being alive in the world is muddled and overwrought, full of clunky poetry that seems to think abstraction and repetition are keys to meaning.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
  • This year’s group is setting up to be one of the more difficult puzzles for Bills general manager Brandon Beane to solve, as the bubble is muddled across the roster.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of muddled
Verb
  • Rubio is the president’s top adviser on both national security and diplomacy at a moment when the United States has blundered into an unpopular war that appears to be a strategic catastrophe.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
  • Padres fielders blundered in three of his outings.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Definition of blundered
Verb
  • But their strategy was fouled up when the car’s occupants switched on the headlights, throwing a glare up the tote road along which the wardens had planned to sprint.
    — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of fouled up
Verb
  • The magician boggled audiences with his card tricks and fantastical illusions.
    — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025
  • They are boggled even more when told that the Fed creating a new $10,000 out of nothing for one borrowing bank could increase the total national money supply, currency plus bank deposits, several times.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2025
Definition of boggled
Verb
  • When Thorwald’s wife is nowhere to be seen the next day, Jeff is convinced that Thorwald murdered and dismembered her.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Sep. 2026
  • And though the plot of Kidman’s abusive boyfriend Jimmy Angelov (played by Goran Visnjic) felt jarring to some, Dunne personally related, as his sister, actress Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her ex in 1982.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of murdered
Verb
  • The Steelers also botched a field goal attempt and couldn’t take advantage of good field position by finishing drives with touchdowns.
    — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
  • The tattoo has been arduous work for William, with setbacks and botched work taking up much of the past decade.
    — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of botched
Verb
  • According to Ghumman, the dangers that cannabis poses in traffic fatalities involve a delay in reaction time compared to someone who is not impaired and a lack of coordination.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The agency is urging motorists and passengers to wear seat belts and reminding drivers not to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
    — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of impaired
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Piffled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffled. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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