as in joking
marked by or expressive of mild or good-natured teasing
a chaffing tone to Dad's discussion of my sister's new boyfriend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in teasing
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 funning
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaffing
Verb
-
OpenAI has been teasing the introduction of ads for weeks.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026 -
Dunkin' has been teasing the Big Game ad for some time.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On Monday, eternal troll 50 Cent leaned into the breakup chatter on Instagram, joking that Diggs lost both the Super Bowl and his girlfriend.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The two began to argue over each other, as Bessent said the president was joking.—
Fatima Hussein,
Fortune,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Literally toxic lesbians — kidding.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Just kidding - but honestly not sold on him being the best player on a championship caliber team.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Their trademark humor — that mix of cheeky absurdism and brotherly ribbing — is fully intact, recalling their ‘60s press conferences that won the hearts of a suspicious media.—
Jordan Runtagh,
PEOPLE,
27 Nov. 2025
-
This strapless bra delivers a surprising amount of support and structure, with a longline silhouette, hook-and-eye closure, and subtle ribbing that give it a slightly corset-like feel.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Tom Lester played Eb Dawson, the Douglases' sarcastic young farmhand.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
25 Jan. 2026
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The worse things are going, the more bitter and sarcastic my humor sometimes gets.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Baker initially shot Benard a quizzical look.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Aikman appeared to be a bit quizzical.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Chaffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaffing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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