Definition of pufferynext
as in hype
information released to the media that is designed to gain public attention or support for a person, business, or cause the newspaper's local stories are often thinly disguised puffery for area businesses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 puffery But management also decided against trying to brag about these network-level changes with new status-bar icons or other sorts of customer-experience puffery. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026 Vendor puffery may also be legal, but that means the IT customer needs a healthy skepticism of the typically too-good-to-be-true promises vendors make. — IEEE Spectrum, 23 Nov. 2025 The defendants have been described by one defense lawyer as being video gamers and recreational gun enthusiasts who were engaged in puffery, nothing else. — Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 3 Nov. 2025 Which is why, having failed to stop the coming spending cuts with preening puffery and shameless dishonesty, defenders of taxpayer dollars for public media have pulled out the last tool out of their political toolbox. — Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
  • Big state schools turn their best athletes into local celebrities, but the hype that followed Michael to Missouri’s campus on his recruiting visits was closer to Beatlemania.
    — New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
  • After years of hype, controversy and a string of high-profile setbacks, Tesla's Cybertruck is heading toward the end of the road.
    — Alex Backus, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 after his trial was moved from Sutter County Superior Court to Sacramento Superior Court because of intense publicity.
    — Michael McGough, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But neither did his opponents, none of whom reported raising much money, and several of whom attracted the kind of publicity that keeps candidates from winning elections.
    — Russell Lissau, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • This shift mirrors something the broader advertising industry has already been through.
    — Kamya Elawadhi, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Charlie Collier, President of Roku Media, has had a major impact on Roku’s advertising and content businesses.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2026
Noun
  • Roku will automatically switch the Aquatic Life screensaver on affected devices to the Roku City screensaver, another popular animation that includes subtle advertisements, according to the user notice.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • That includes a new Tommy Hilfiger advertisement featuring Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster