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
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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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But regardless of whether Mythos lives up to its hype, industry experts largely agree that a period of reckoning is likely coming soon, when hackers will be able to use AI to give them more of an advantage over their victims than ever before.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
11 Apr. 2026
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This was a hellacious heavyweight matchup that lived up to the hype.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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An advertisement, generating publicity before a concert tour.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
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In the publicity run leading up to the movie, Zendaya and Pattinson have also avoided commenting on the plot twist or overall storyline.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Subscription streaming, which started off as ad-free and relatively inexpensive a decade ago, has tilted toward advertising in recent years as prices continue to go up, in large part to defray the cost of sports rights and big-ticket programming.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
9 Apr. 2026
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On Android, reset or delete your advertising ID.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The cartel has been accused of using fake job advertisements to lure new members and of torturing and killing recruits who resist.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
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The first, a lithograph-on-tin advertisement for Sapolin Enamel, pictured its label above a scene of a young girl painting a bedstead.—
Howard Halle,
ARTnews.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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