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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
-
All Trump has really done for them is shout nonsense about water.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2025
-
Contorting morality and diversity to justify a stifling enhancement ordinance is woke nonsense.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Although this Cinderella is thankfully not a naive maiden, her storyline occasionally gets muddled by one too many loose threads.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
25 Jan. 2025
-
Doing too much, too soon, not only muddles your purpose, but overextends your resources.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
In Dolton, residents can’t even be sure their garbage will be collected.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2025
-
During another sale, an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle was placed in a garbage bag and sold in the middle of the afternoon in the Bronx.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
They can be fluffed and molded to suit your sleeping position.—
Toni Sutton,
People.com,
28 Jan. 2025
-
New smoke could appear quickly if wind patterns change, and the potentially toxic ash that spread across the city in the fires' early days can get fluffed back into the air by wind, too.—
Alejandra Borunda,
NPR,
18 Jan. 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
-
Proponents of this theory point to Kennedy's strained relationship with the CIA after the Bay of Pigs blunder, as well as differences over how the U.S. should have approached Vietnam.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Carter blundered as a president in the same ways Joe Biden has.—
Jancee Dunn,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 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
-
Raising windshield wipers is a practice that likely boggles those unaccustomed to winter weather.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
4 Jan. 2025
-
When you’re only allowed to play 924 minutes in 365 days, the resulting numbers will boggle an onlooker’s mind.—
Jeff Rueter,
The Athletic,
14 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near piffle
Cite this Entry
“Piffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piffle. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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