kerfuffle

noun

ker·fuf·fle kər-ˈfə-fəl

plural kerfuffles

Synonyms of kerfuffle next

informal

: a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict

In all the kerfuffle, nobody seemed to have noticed Harry, which suited him perfectly.—

J. K. Rowling

It's not the only school with dress code issues; almost every week there's a local story about some kerfuffle over what kids wear to school.—

Belinda Luscombe

Did you know?

The Evolution of Kerfuffle

Fuffle is an old Scottish verb that means “to muss” or “to throw into disarray”—in other words, to (literally) ruffle someone’s (figurative) feathers. The addition of car-, possibly from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “wrong” or “awkward,” didn’t change its meaning much. In the 19th century carfuffle, with its variant curfuffle, became a noun, which in the 20th century was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to kerfuffle, referring to a more figurative feather-ruffling. There is some kerfuffle among language historians over how the altered spelling came to be favored. One theory holds that it might have been influenced by onomatopoeic words like kerplunk that imitate the sound of a falling object hitting a surface.

Examples of kerfuffle in a Sentence

predictably, the royal scandal caused quite a kerfuffle on Fleet Street

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

There’s also quite a bit of kerfuffle about a story where AI allegedly destroyed data sets related to a legal case brought by newspapers who say that the company used their articles to train its models without their permission. —

John Werner, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024 After the demo work but before the re-construction, Stewart got into a kerfuffle with the next-door neighbor, real estate developer Harry Macklowe, over a row of shrubs the domestic diva claimed the property tycoon planted on her property. —

Mark David, Robb Report, 26 July 2024 In this election cycle — four years after federal agents foiled a kidnapping plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and just weeks after two assassination attempts on the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump — political kerfuffles seem to be getting more public attention. —

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 27 Sep. 2024 This monumental problem seems to exceed any kerfuffle of whether there are more wheels or doors in the world. —

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for kerfuffle