as in to flip
to turn over pages in an idle or cursory manner
Web research is convenient but doesn't offer the tactile pleasures of riffling through heavy old books
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of riffle
Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024
Keep reading to check out more weekend deals, or head straight to Amazon to riffle through everything else that's on sale right now.
—Amy Schulman, PEOPLE.com, 6 May 2022
Samindra Kunti, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
Very often, the single word that completes the thought in a Maclean line is the fly that drops perfectly onto the riffle.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for riffle
Verb
Palm fronds riffled in the hot breeze as the sky darkened and the air smelled, mysteriously, of salad dressing.
—Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024
Keep reading to check out more weekend deals, or head straight to Amazon to riffle through everything else that's on sale right now.
—Amy Schulman, PEOPLE.com, 6 May 2022
Noun
Tanks and soldiers with riffles have lined the streets of the Paraguayan capital all week.
—Samindra Kunti, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
Very often, the single word that completes the thought in a Maclean line is the fly that drops perfectly onto the riffle.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for riffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riffle
Verb
-
In the finale, allegiances have flipped.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet won the special election for a seat in the Texas state Senate on Saturday, flipping a district reliably held by a Republican for over a decade.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Pipe those wavelets of foie gras feculence over to neighboring Surfside, a two-bathroom kind of town with waste pipes galore.—
Pat Beall,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 June 2025
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Its wavelets lap enticingly at our feet, but the breaker that might truly knock the breath out of us never comes.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
What can residents do to help leaf, trash collectors?—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
19 Jan. 2026
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On properties where no house was left, roses sprang to life and trees that had been charred started leafing again.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But recently TikTok is discovering the face-framing magic that comes from turning your curls inward.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
5 Feb. 2026
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These handles are usually coloured red or yellow, to identify each team’s stones, and the players control which way the stone curls by rotating the handle in one direction or the other.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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An agent in Massachusetts jabbed his finger and thumb into the neck and arteries of a young father who refused to be separated from his wife and 1-year-old daughter.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
13 Jan. 2026
-
He was criticized for seemingly thumbing his nose at the NFL’s Rooney Rule and only interviewing four candidates before selecting Vrabel.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Stoddard started roller skating in kindergarten, then switched to inline skating a year later.—
Aliza Chasan,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
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There are also times — like in Usher’s roller skating fiasco — when talent might want extra time to rehearse certain moments of the show.—
Jayna Bardahl,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
My mind drifted to the World Rally Championship as the Duster skimmed across the surface with unexpected pace and stability.—
Fergus Scholes,
TheWeek,
30 Jan. 2026
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The body-skimming jersey fabric will keep you cool and comfy, plus it's designed to withstand washing and drying.—
Cheryl Wagemann,
InStyle,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the scope was one of the many tiny fish bones that were found that day, probably belonging to a small comber or a wrasse.—
Paul Greenberg,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 Dec. 2022
-
The destructive combers continued to undermine dwellings near the water’s edge at West Newport Beach.—
Scott Harrison,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Riffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riffle. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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