as in irritating
causing annoyance
learned to ignore those chafing comments that his mother-in-law was constantly making
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in scratching
to make sore by continued rubbing
ill-fitting boots that had badly chafed my heels
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in wearing
to damage or diminish by continued friction
constant stepping on a rope will gradually chafe it, rendering it unsafe for rock climbing
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in annoying
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
nothing chafes us so much as those telemarketers who call during the dinner hour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chafing
Adjective
-
Crusty eyes can be unsightly and irritating, but there are ways to manage and treat the debris and keep your eyes clean and healthy.—
Laura Schober,
Health,
29 Jan. 2025 -
Try substituting less irritating sodium ascorbate for vitamin C and retinal for retinol or tretinoin.—
Anna Giorgi,
Verywell Health,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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But that’s just scratching the surface – addressing only the symptoms of the underlying challenges and only addressing them at the end of the SDLC process.—
Jeremy Vaughan,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
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Similar to a sheet pan, whole meals can be built in a Dutch oven, scratching that same itch for convenience and less clean up.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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CenturyLink hasn't broken its annoying habit of leaving customers without service for weeks or months and repeatedly failing to show up for repair appointments.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
10 Feb. 2025
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These evergreen monocultures, originally planted as lumber during the country’s postwar building boom, cause annoying seasonal allergies and dangerous erosion that leads to mudslides.—
Hannah Kirshner,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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These measures, intended to reduce systemic financial risks, inadvertently triggered a liquidity crisis, leaving developers unable to complete projects and further eroding consumer confidence.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
-
In an era of eroding public trust and red-hot campus culture wars, the public higher education is now more political than ever, said Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the journal Science and former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.—
Ian Hodgson,
Orlando Sentinel,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Jan. 2025
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The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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For the last three weeks, Democrats up and down the seniority list have been stuck playing an especially frustrating game of Whac-a-Mole: smack the outrage of the hour and then race to hit the next one, never quite leveling the field.—
Philip Elliott,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
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Unfortunately, the setup process is frustrating compared with the competition, as are the site-building tools.—
Robert Anderson,
PCMAG,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Neither mentioned the constitutional spending cap, a measure designed to ensure fiscal responsibility that many economists blame for the fraying state of Germany's infrastructure.—
Fox News,
Fox News,
16 Dec. 2024
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And cheaper polo belts are stitched with shorter pieces of thread which will unravel over time, creating a fraying effect—but the best quality belts are stitched from longer pieces of thread which won’t unravel.—
Todd Plummer,
Robb Report,
6 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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But even for Ye, his abrupt public embrace of antisemitism and counterintuitive right-wing political rhetoric, resulting in his bringing avowed white nationalist Nick Fuentes to dine with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, has been disturbing.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
7 Feb. 2025
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Even though Iris prefaced their weekend getaway with a disturbing intrusive thought about a previous boyfriend, her big unhinged moment is ultimately a passive decision to not untie her non-boyfriend.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
6 Feb. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near chafing
Cite this Entry
“Chafing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chafing. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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