as in quarrel
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
got into a little tiff about what color sheets to buy for their bed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
like any couple, they occasionally tiff, but it's never anything serious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tiff
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
On this week’s New Heights, Clooney — who’s been married to Amal since 2014 and shares two twin children with her — went on to share his outlook on spousal tiffs with the Kelce brothers.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
When his father became king in 2015, Prince Mohammed was portrayed as impulsive — launching a war in Yemen, dragging the country into tiffs with Canada and Germany, and famously cracking down on fellow princes and billionaires.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
Returning home from some opening or other one evening, Marta (Rohrwacher) and her partner Antonio (Elio Germano) get into an apparently familiar argument — more of a tiff really — that for some reason this time escalates towards a different end, with Antonio moving out.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiff
Noun
Their tiffs were almost entirely about women dancing suggestively on prime-time television.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
On this week’s New Heights, Clooney — who’s been married to Amal since 2014 and shares two twin children with her — went on to share his outlook on spousal tiffs with the Kelce brothers.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
When his father became king in 2015, Prince Mohammed was portrayed as impulsive — launching a war in Yemen, dragging the country into tiffs with Canada and Germany, and famously cracking down on fellow princes and billionaires.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
Returning home from some opening or other one evening, Marta (Rohrwacher) and her partner Antonio (Elio Germano) get into an apparently familiar argument — more of a tiff really — that for some reason this time escalates towards a different end, with Antonio moving out.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tiff
Noun
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In a 2024 study, researchers found that chimpanzee mothers tended to step in to defend their children in quarrels—say, over food or space in a tree—in about half of cases the researchers observed in the wild.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
10 May 2026
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As the trio quarrels, bonds and ventures through the wild unknown, Felix discovers that true bravery may change not only his own destiny, but also the future of his home.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Since then, showrunner Tim Minear and the rest of the writers have played up the actors' natural chemistry, playing into both the characters' bickering dynamic and their willingness to do anything, including risking their lives, for one another.—
Sabienna Bowman,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
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The video went viral, and the two eventually bickered about it on social media later Sunday night.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Video footage appeared to show Pretti recording the agents on his phone before a physical altercation began.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
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During the altercation, police said the male victim produced a firearm and fired a single round.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Callie and Arizona: Another couple spatting over kids.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
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Mulroney, Ackerman, Snow, and Newman turn this story of spatting WAGS into an explosive, addictive watch.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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When Magyar emerged as an opposition figure, their disputes became a recurring story in the tabloids.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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The dispute, which has spanned three mayoral administrations going back to at least 2021, has now hit a breaking point.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
Verb
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In one scene in the novel, a black ram named Othello, who lives in misery in a carnival, forced to fight dogs, is visited in his pen by a strange ram bearing advice.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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Trump has gone back and forth over whether the war will end, at times expressing optimism and at other times saying Russia and Ukraine should be left to fight it out to the bitter end.—
Darlene Superville,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
Noun
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Since the controversies erupted, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been engaged in discussions, including leaders of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus.—
Nikole Killion,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
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Was that a conscious decision after the controversy surrounding past tweets that made some people see you as a villain during the Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign?—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The nomination of Hamilton, who argued abolishing FEMA was not in the country’s best interests, is the latest indication of that change.—
Gabriela Aoun Angueira,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
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Going nuclear could help the state meet that demand, its proponents argue.—
Krisztian Elcsics,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tiff. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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