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

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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 This is where the focused music hall puffery of the production helps. Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 Apr. 2024 That conclusion may sound preposterously quaint to some, unwelcome advice to a few, ridiculous puffery or an impossible goal to still others. David Baldacci, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024 Most mentions of Florida were mere puffery, with little indication of what DeSantis intends to accomplish. Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2024 When the subject is not the movies but matters of the Middle East, the consequences of this sleight of hand are far graver than some dubious promotional puffery. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
  • Even Wall Street, which lately has been drunk on a cocktail of AI hype and rate-cut anticipation, briefly sobered up to take in the Thursday wholesale report.
    Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The investment community should rightly be skeptical about the hype surrounding this new vehicle launch.
    James Rogan, The Washington Examiner, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Given the wildly inconsistent rulings on the right of publicity at the state level, there is a desperate need for uniform federal legislation on this issue, as there is for copyright and trademark.
    Schuyler Moore, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • So the girls have settled for taking the satisfaction that comes not from an equal amount of publicity to their male counterparts, but from beating the shorts off the boys at any and every opportunity.
    Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Outdoor signage advertising video gaming inside is now more closely regulated.
    Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
  • These can be advertising costs in a local newspaper or pay-per-click ads on social media.
    Vlad Rusz, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Your LinkedIn headline plays the same role as the headline of an advertisement.
    William Arruda, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • In Indiana, where congressional primaries are typically the more competitive races, a politically relevant advertisement or mail piece from a congressional office can widen the recognition gap between an incumbent and potential competitors, experts said.
    Brittany Carloni, IndyStar, 11 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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