PUFFING Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

puffing

verb

present participle of puff

as in panting

to breathe hard, quickly, or with difficulty he came running up the stairs puffing and wheezing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in stroking

to praise too much a talk show host who can be counted on to puff up the celebrities who readily consent to be interviewed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 puffing Throughout Thursday’s ruling, Judge Bryan Biedscheid compared Meta and its suite of apps to a factory — and its harm to puffing toxins into the air. — Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026 The sight of a dough puffing, cheese oozing out its side, becoming browned and crispy…who cannot be swayed? — Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 July 2026 Set in an alternate past during Japan's Meiji era, the world of Sparks of Tomorrow is totally reliant on steam power, with massive boilers constantly puffing away. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 3 July 2026 Solar maximum was reached in late 2024, heating and puffing the Earth’s atmosphere, increasing the drag on all satellites. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 2 July 2026 Despite those flashes on the counter, Potter will have probably felt like puffing his cheeks and throwing his hands in the air. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 30 June 2026 In the mid-2000s, after getting the worst of it during a few hurricanes, the external panels had to be replaced, but they were faithfully reproduced down to the bull’s steam-puffing nostrils. — Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 12 Apr. 2026 Hilton asked the same cigar-puffing audience Friday moments after Bianco spoke. — Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Apr. 2026 Some people still try to breathe through their mouth during sleep, a phenomenon called 'mouth puffing. — Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 9 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffing

Verb

The delivery person added that none of the canines appeared to have access to food or sufficient water, and that all the animals were panting.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026
Dogs primarily rely on panting, while cats also groom themselves to help regulate body temperature.

— Lauren Paige Richeson, USA Today, 21 July 2026

Definition of panting

Verb

There was only one other visitor, another mother stroking another small head.

— Fran Moreland Johns, The Atlantic, 11 May 2026
Alongside Cruise feeding and stroking his dying cat while walking around his mansion with his gut hanging out, there are shots of planes readying for battle and collapsing polar ice caps.

— Brent Lang, Variety, 15 Apr. 2026

Definition of stroking

Verb

The power outages caused by storms that roared through the region nearly two weeks ago have one resident of this Rust Belt city literally gasping for air.

— Selina Guevara, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026
Loud, frequent snoring paired with gasping, choking or pauses in breathing may point to obstructive sleep apnea.

— Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of gasping

Verb

But the design quickly sparked backlash and support online, with some applauding the farm's call for civil discourse and others questioning why Kirk was chosen as the face of one of the attraction's biggest annual draws.

— Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Chelsea supporters at Craven Cottage responded by applauding Fernandez and singing his name.

— Liam Twomey, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of applauding

Verb

Carlson praising a member of the Democratic Party is more threatening to Vance than Carlson praising an apologist for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026
The video of the confrontation has drawn more than 64,000 likes, with many commenters praising Opperman as a small-town hero.

— Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of praising

Verb

Notably, in a tweet congratulating Jensen on the deal, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora echoed the importance of balancing open source and open weights with frontier LLMs.

— , CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Melvin and Dreyer took turns congratulating and embracing Ikeda shortly after the news broke.

— Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of congratulating

Verb

Other things to prevent damage prior to wearing stilettos can include stretching or massaging the arches of your foot.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026
Angela Castro, the director of housekeeping at The Benjamin Royal Sonesta Hotel, recommends gently massaging the filling by hand to redistribute it.

— Colleen Sullivan, Martha Stewart, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of massaging

Browse Nearby Words

puffery

puffing

puffing (up)

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“Puffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffing. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of puffing

verb

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