as in interpretation
a distinct treatment of something (as a story or a play)
a mock news program with humorous riffs on current events
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Recent Examples of riff
Later artists from Prince to the Black Eyed Peas drew from his innovations, and countless hip-hop artists sampled his riffs.
—
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025
She’s taken her most unexpected pivot yet on this epic kiss-off from Portrait of My Heart, with visceral riffs and overdriven melodies evoking the high-wire emo theatrics that infiltrated MTV during the 33-year-old’s own teenage years.
—Jenn Pelly, Time, 7 June 2025
Jimmy Kimmel joined in on the late-night host riff session tackling Elon Musk and President Trump’s escalating feud, which has seen the tech billionaire leave the administration and allege that the commander-in-chief is named in U.S. government documents about Jeffrey Epstein.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 6 June 2025
But his riff on American competitiveness, and the need for more smart immigrants, became infamous on the nationalist right.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for riff
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025
She’s taken her most unexpected pivot yet on this epic kiss-off from Portrait of My Heart, with visceral riffs and overdriven melodies evoking the high-wire emo theatrics that infiltrated MTV during the 33-year-old’s own teenage years.
—Jenn Pelly, Time, 7 June 2025
Jimmy Kimmel joined in on the late-night host riff session tackling Elon Musk and President Trump’s escalating feud, which has seen the tech billionaire leave the administration and allege that the commander-in-chief is named in U.S. government documents about Jeffrey Epstein.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 6 June 2025
But his riff on American competitiveness, and the need for more smart immigrants, became infamous on the nationalist right.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for riff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riff
Noun
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Earlier in the week, on a CBS Morning Show interview, McDonald told Oprah’s consort Gayle King that her characterization in the Gypsy revival obeyed director George C. Wolfe’s new interpretation, reflecting Millennial race consciousness.—
Armond White,
National Review,
13 June 2025
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Modest dress codes are common across many Arab countries, though their enforcement varies widely depending on local customs, religious interpretations, and government policies.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
Noun
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Companies moving in this direction need to understand how variation in price can affect the ability to meet operational expenses.—
Alexander S. Blume,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Approach and mentality are frequent topics of conversation, even if there’s some variation between the two.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Musicians Carlile and Bareilles, both multiple Grammy winners, co-wrote a song with Gibson that closes the film, with Bareilles handling the vocals in the version of the documentary that screened Saturday night.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
15 June 2025
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In the latest version of the CJGJ-Eagles saga, the veteran safety went live on Instagram to chat it up with some fans.—
Justin Grasso,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Riff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riff. Accessed 26 Jun. 2025.
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