1
as in irritable
easily offended
the comedy is about a huffy actress who loudly protests every perceived insult, no matter how slight
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
he's been acting very huffy ever since he was named head of the department
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of huffy
Eleven hours into this 15-hour shift, most of the attending’s best qualities — his pragmatic approach to medicine, his encouragement of young colleagues, his ability to roll with unexpected challenges — have curdled into huffy dismissiveness and defensive blind spots.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
He is seen as favoring Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, to take over WEF, though her huffy exit this year from a dinner stacked with US government officials may make things awkward.
—semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The first, rather vacuous season hinges in part on whether the Russells’ neighbor—the huffy, old-money Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski)—will ever cross Sixty-first Street to visit.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
Mister Terrific, who is not a humorous man but is very funny because of it, gets very huffy over Superman’s jibes and storms off.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Inevitably all this tumult attracts the attention of a trio of huffy rival confectioners, Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton).
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Dec. 2023
Thus the mischief of the Allegretto scherzando was made more mischievous: Its huffy pace and hushed dialogues of oboes and flutes interrupted by scrubby strings.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 13 May 2023
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
He is seen as favoring Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, to take over WEF, though her huffy exit this year from a dinner stacked with US government officials may make things awkward.
—semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The first, rather vacuous season hinges in part on whether the Russells’ neighbor—the huffy, old-money Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski)—will ever cross Sixty-first Street to visit.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
Mister Terrific, who is not a humorous man but is very funny because of it, gets very huffy over Superman’s jibes and storms off.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Inevitably all this tumult attracts the attention of a trio of huffy rival confectioners, Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton).
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Dec. 2023
Thus the mischief of the Allegretto scherzando was made more mischievous: Its huffy pace and hushed dialogues of oboes and flutes interrupted by scrubby strings.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 13 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for huffy
Adjective
-
Caroly is immediately affected, glued to the TV; John, suddenly irritable, retreats.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Rather than get irritable online, Medeiros did something positive about it.—
Dan Medeiros,
The Herald News,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The rabbi is ornery, arrogant, sometimes cruel.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Edgily eager to shoot their scenes and get a move on with their acting lives, the increasingly tetchy trio are stuck in virtual drydock as all actual moviemaking has drained away.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
10 Mar. 2026
-
On the eve of the spring classics, the atmosphere is tetchy.—
Chris Marshall-Bell,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The fact that anyone at the top is shocked by snaking security lines at airports is of a piece with the administration’s rather cavalier approach to contingency planning.—
Juliette Kayyem,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Each crossbreed comes from a poodle bred with a cavalier King Charles spaniel, cocker spaniel, or Labrador retriever.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This wasn’t surprising, given that intelligence agencies compartmentalize information about sensitive operations.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
It is well understood in the region that could mean things like broad targeting of sensitive and highly vulnerable energy installations, something Iran has already threatened, essential for the regional and global economies, as well as hard to quickly repair and rebuild.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But a large part of it still existed and had never been digitized and was in fairly touchy condition.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Other subjects are touchier, including the sport’s fast-approaching labor war.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Huffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/huffy. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
