as in debris
discarded or useless material
there's a lot of chaff in this book, and the reader should be on the alert for it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in laugh
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
I got no end of chaff about my accent when I was in the military
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to tease
to make fun of in a good-natured way
chaffed her about the brightly colored shirt she had received as a gift
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chaff
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
This dynamic—in which markets lowball ambitious movies, and streaming platforms ply audiences with algorithmic chaff—leaves little room for both enthusiasm and good-faith challenges.
—Elena Saavedra Buckley, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024
Chaff flower will be used instead of Japanese chaff flower to refer to Achyranthese japonica, an invasive floodplain plant not known to be present in Michigan.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 30 July 2024
Drinkers then sit around an open pot of beer and drink it through straws that filter out the barley seeds and chaff.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
See all Example Sentences for chaff 
Noun
The challenge is in discerning the wheat from the chaff.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
This dynamic—in which markets lowball ambitious movies, and streaming platforms ply audiences with algorithmic chaff—leaves little room for both enthusiasm and good-faith challenges.
—Elena Saavedra Buckley, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024
Chaff flower will be used instead of Japanese chaff flower to refer to Achyranthese japonica, an invasive floodplain plant not known to be present in Michigan.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 30 July 2024
Drinkers then sit around an open pot of beer and drink it through straws that filter out the barley seeds and chaff.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
See all Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Though Evans comforted Bunny in person, Hot Ones made sure to tease him a little bit in post-production.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
23 Jan. 2025
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Activision teases five new multiplayer maps being added to Black Ops 6 in the upcoming season, with two of them coming a few weeks after the update.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Returning for his third time as host, the New York native opened his nearly five-minute monologue by joking about his frequent losses at major award shows and his struggle with facial hair.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
26 Jan. 2025
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Vance even joked about skipping Monday's inauguration to watch the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in Atlanta.—
Jackson Thompson,
Fox News,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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All kidding aside, the Wild have surpassed the expectations of many, including The Athletic staff.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
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Justin Sherman: The TikTok Discourse Is Nonsense Anyone who perceives that the Chinese government can't pick a tech company in its borders and coerce it to support state efforts is kidding themselves.—
Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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They are first roasted until golden, and then roasted further in a mixture of chicken stock and butter.—
Marianne Williams,
Southern Living,
28 Jan. 2025
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At its most basic, peanut butter consists of peanuts that are roasted and blanched, then ground into a thick, nutritionally dense spread.—
Annie Peterson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Don’t be fooled by its cheery name: Happy Face looks haunting.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
27 Jan. 2025
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In other words, an attacker would need to fool all or nearly all nodes to remain hidden—which quickly becomes infeasible as more light nodes join.—
Ayush Gupta,
Forbes,
24 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near chaff
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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