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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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
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One strong gust of wind can be enough to flip one of these trailers onto its side.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Mar. 2026
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Ohtani flipped his bat, turned to his dugout and pushed his hands forward before rounding the bases.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
15 Mar. 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
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But other begonia varieties have foliage that can hold its own in the garden when the plants aren't flowering, too, like the Polka Dot begonia (Begonia maculata) and the orange-leafed 'Autumn Crinkle' begonia, a rhizomatous hybrid.—
Derek Carwood,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Mar. 2026
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In English woodlands, bluebells flower early in spring, as light seeps through newly leafing trees.—
Amy Waldman,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Shawkat, with her warm, amused eyes and her mop of curls, is a perfect carrier for Mae’s air of abjection, flopping around her bed like a horny, gloomy Raggedy Ann.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Hair type refers to your curl pattern.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Going out on top has its appeal, but Auriemma plans, even if granted another such opportunity, to thumb his nose at it once more.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
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Val Kilmer’s performance as this trickster poet forever thumbing his nose at reality embodies the movie’s tensions.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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And more than 10,000 shoppers bought this roller in the last month alone, with many offering five-star reviews.—
Brittany VanDerBill,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Mar. 2026
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Fiercely loyal shoppers swear by QuikTrip’s convenience-store food, especially its cult-favorite roller grill.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pond skims a rite of spring Spring skiing can be variable.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
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The shot was pure, skimming atop the grass to nestle inside the far post.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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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 19 Mar. 2026.
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