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
Signs include panting, a hoarse bark, scuffing or dragging their toes along the ground, and sometimes regurgitation or swallowing problems.
—
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 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
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 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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Use a dry cloth and gentle pressure to remove buildup without scratching delicate surfaces.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
27 May 2026
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Spark will monitor and organize Gmail, complete complex tasks, and manage workflows across apps – and that’s just scratching the surface.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
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The move comes one year after the team promoted Saleh to general manager after another round of shuffling in its front office.—
Lauren Williams,
AJC.com,
27 May 2026
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The room was full of journalists and no supporters, so as the race call that Paxton won went out, the only sounds were fingers tapping at keyboards and television reporters shuffling in front of cameras to prepare to go live.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Proxy services are often used for illicit or unethical purposes such as performing DDoS attacks, running botnet command-and-control servers, operating phishing operations, and scraping website content.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 2026
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After negotiations fell through, the network blocked Perplexity’s scraping bot from accessing its content.—
Corbin Bolies,
Variety,
28 May 2026
Verb
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As anyone who's come within a hundred miles of the city will tell you, Nashville is a live-music mecca, overflowing with boot-stomping, fiddle-playing entertainment.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
24 May 2026
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We’re treated to a surreal sequence wherein Cassie transforms into the 50-Foot Woman, stomping all over Downtown Los Angeles like a monster movie, which all seems like a pretext for a scene where Sweeney’s giant boobs burst through the windows of a building.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Coming shortly after Thierno Barry had put them 3-1 up, both Tarkowski and Keane switched off from kick-off to hand a stumbling City a lifeline.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Villatoro — who previously held high-level positions at Mattel and Smashbox Cosmetics — remembered stumbling upon the brand at Sephora’s annual beauty event Sephoria long before she was brought on.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffing. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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