as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
the belief that soda is made out of acid is just piffle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to muddle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of piffle
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 7 June 2024
To note that Gloria!, the directing debut of Italian actor-singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario, is vapid, pseudo-feminist, sentimental piffle would be entirely accurate.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
People who are too cowardly to put their names behind their allegations are hiding in the shadows, using the anonymity of dark money laws to try to raise doubts in the minds of voters by spreading inflammatory charges that amount to piffle.
—cleveland, 12 Sep. 2021
The whole story now seems like so much piffle, except for the sons who lost their mother and a princess who lost her life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2021
It’s a not-quite-living imitation of a movie, a self-parody that lacks even a touch of humor—because, at the slightest sting of wit, its entire membrane of fakery would burst and leave hardly a piffle of vapor behind.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2021
The fact that all those involved in discussing this question have heads full of tosh and piffle does not make for productive debates.
—Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2020
Though often dismissed as superstitious piffle, ghosts have proved surprisingly durable.
—The Economist, 28 Oct. 2017
The Economist, 31 Oct. 2019
Noun
Too often, the competing streaming algorithms at Netflix, Max, and Amazon Prime Video push a smattering of undifferentiated piffle.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 7 June 2024
To note that Gloria!, the directing debut of Italian actor-singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario, is vapid, pseudo-feminist, sentimental piffle would be entirely accurate.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The irony of the lightweight piffle being resurrected 26 years later isn’t lost on the group.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 21 July 2023
People who are too cowardly to put their names behind their allegations are hiding in the shadows, using the anonymity of dark money laws to try to raise doubts in the minds of voters by spreading inflammatory charges that amount to piffle.
—cleveland, 12 Sep. 2021
The whole story now seems like so much piffle, except for the sons who lost their mother and a princess who lost her life.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2021
It’s a not-quite-living imitation of a movie, a self-parody that lacks even a touch of humor—because, at the slightest sting of wit, its entire membrane of fakery would burst and leave hardly a piffle of vapor behind.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2021
The fact that all those involved in discussing this question have heads full of tosh and piffle does not make for productive debates.
—Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2020
Though often dismissed as superstitious piffle, ghosts have proved surprisingly durable.
—The Economist, 28 Oct. 2017
Verb
The Ritz, a smart London hotel where Margaret Thatcher spent her last days, is in fine fettle, turning a neat annual profit and valued in the region of £800m—not bad for a property bought for a piffling £75m in 1995.
—The Economist, 31 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piffle
Noun
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First off, the bulk of the trailer is Shrek and company scrolling through fantasy TikTok courtesy of the magic mirror, which shows dancing Shrek, shirtless Shrek and other nonsense, apparently posted by Pinocchio.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Spouted a bunch of nonsense conspiracy theories about who’s getting Social Security benefits.—
Brian Barrett,
WIRED,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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He’s also muddled his message to congressional Republicans looking for guidance on how to implement his agenda.—
David Sivak,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The sushi bar is where the Chinese American brand (which the Panda restaurants have so painstakingly worked to establish) gets muddled in an overzealous play at fusion.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Crews wearing hazmat suits shoveled mounds of ash into plastic garbage bags.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Hegseth calls new names 'garbage' Hegseth already signaled his intention to revert the original, Confederate names of two bases.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The instructions guided us to put in the dryer for 10 minutes after unpacking, and this makes all the difference in fluffing it up!—
Briana Feigon,
Architectural Digest,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Barella then fluffs his shot, but the ball falls to Taremi, whose overhead kick is saved by Michele Di Gregorio before Denzel Dumfries misses a close-range header from the subsequent cross.—
Ahmed Walid,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
View 6 Images Unlike cats, our vision is pretty rubbish in very low light conditions.—
Paul Ridden,
New Atlas,
17 Jan. 2025
-
On the evening of January 14, a woman was arrested after allegedly setting multiple piles of rubbish and trash on fire, Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said at a news conference last week.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Particularly the government's blundering attempts to deal with these new visitors.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2025
-
Did the practitioners of the Pax sometimes blunder?—
Bret Stephens,
The Mercury News,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The property also grows its own herbs, greens, nuts, berries, and edible flowers.—
Bianca Salonga,
Forbes,
6 Jan. 2025
-
Focus on whole foods like fruits, leafy green vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The whole thing was absolutely mind boggling to me.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Think about it, there was a time where the concept of getting email on your phone was mind boggling, but that was the premise behind the Blackberry.—
Lauren Parker,
WWD,
15 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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