1
as in scratching
to damage by rubbing against a sharp or rough surface
scuffed up her shoes by rubbing her feet under the rung of the chair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
the miners scuffed past in heavy boots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffing
Wagner wasn’t as fortunate with his 7-iron shot, pulling it left into the rough (and scuffing the bottom of his club).
—
Jay Posner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
Valverde also had a decent chance in August away at Oviedo, when running through on goal on the break and scuffing a shot against the outside of the post.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
The slate coasters feature little pads to keep the smooth, rock material from scuffing your table.
—Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Remove shoes while in the house to avoid scuffing up baseboards and floors.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
Keep shoes in separate bags Avoid scuffing trainers or damaging heels in your suitcase by packing them in shoe bags.
—Lauren Burvill, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Oct. 2023
Jay Posner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026
Valverde also had a decent chance in August away at Oviedo, when running through on goal on the break and scuffing a shot against the outside of the post.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
The slate coasters feature little pads to keep the smooth, rock material from scuffing your table.
—Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Remove shoes while in the house to avoid scuffing up baseboards and floors.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
Keep shoes in separate bags Avoid scuffing trainers or damaging heels in your suitcase by packing them in shoe bags.
—Lauren Burvill, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffing
Verb
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That's only scratching the surface of the symbolism and spirit of revolt that Bad Bunny brought to the Super Bowl.—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang,
Refinery29,
9 Feb. 2026
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Mock suggests using gentle cleaning tools to avoid scratching the flooring.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Metcalf and Pullman are both wonderful in their shuffling ordinariness, reenacting long-obsolete parental dynamics with a kind of rueful, hopeful denial.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Some Walmart shoppers could have already seen egg prices drop at their local stores, according to USA TODAY's shopping cart tracker, powered by Bright Data, a data-scraping company.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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There are 617 McDonald's restaurants in Ohio, according to the web scraping tool ScrapeHero.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Han will be posted up by the Milennium Falcon and/or Oga’s Cantina, Luke will be stomping his Chanel boots in the marketplace, and Darth Vader will be force-choking dads in Grumpy tees.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
14 Jan. 2026
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Then there’s the people watching, from the tailgating to the communal divot stomping, full of dramatic sun dresses and hats with flourishes, seersucker suits and, yes, hats with flourishes.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He’s saved by a drunken Ser Arlan, who comes stumbling into the alley and instinctively follows his knightly code to defend the innocent.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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The victim was then seen stumbling backwards and sustained a visible mark on her neck, according to the sheriff's office.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffing. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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