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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The trio has completely reimagined what a jukebox musical and a movie adaptation can be, taking the blueprint of what Broadway has been leaning on for decades now and flipping it, joyfully, on its head.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
13 Apr. 2026
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Last year’s Public Service Commission flips were a blaring warning sign in a cycle dominated by voter anxiety over affordability and utility costs.—
Greg Bluestein,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 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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At the site, trees are leafing as workers add finishing touches.—
Aria Jones,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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Each cantilever is composed of a stack of several submicrometer layers of material and curls approximately 90 degrees out of the plane at rest.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
9 Apr. 2026
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Regardless of the method, Marjan considers hair extensions to be one of the most vital components in her tool kit, especially for those who have fine hair that won’t hold a curl.—
Hunter Lacey,
Allure,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Caleb Foster thumbed over his shoulder to move Cam Boozer.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2026
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Since the late 1970s, victories at the bargaining table have been less frequent, and UFW leaders admit ranchers thumbed their noses during contract negotiations, daring them to strike.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Steven Kwan hit a roller to second that was tailor-made for an inning-ending double play, but because the ball hit Rocchio, he was ruled out and Kwan was awarded a single.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
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Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have identified 10 new species and seven new genera of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths — a discovery that reveals previously undocumented biodiversity in the islands even as some of these creatures teeter on the edge of extinction.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Special backhoes will skim that top layer of soil off the top.—
Andy Sheehan,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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But a financial audit revealed that Alfortish had been skimming money, some of which had been earmarked for hurricane relief, to pay for vacations to Aruba and to Grand Cayman, and for a new sound system at his home.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 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 16 Apr. 2026.
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