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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puffery
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
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
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
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
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Few athletes in sports history have entered the professional ranks with more hype and intrigue than Caitlin Clark.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
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For her part Zoe, mature well beyond her tender age, dismisses the hype with a shrug.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Noun
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Blue Origin is also the publicity leader, most famously with an all-female crew featuring Lauren Sanchez, (now Lauren Bezos) singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
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The measure triggered a storm of publicity and a nationwide debate over the merits of using local ordinances to control gun ownership, but was upheld in 1984 by the Illinois Supreme Court.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
Noun
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Allen in turn sells the advertising that appears alongside his shows.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
29 May 2026
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Don’t Kill Reach with External Links Like any business that makes money from advertising, LinkedIn frowns upon directing people away from LinkedIn to another site.—
William Arruda,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
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In 1898, a woman by the name Agnes Quigley posted an advertisement in the San Francisco Call and Post newspaper, Schwed said.—
Sneha Dhandapani,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
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Meanwhile, telehealth companies have not historically followed the same rules that drugmakers have in disclosing medication risks in advertisements.—
Maia Rosenfeld,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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