as in hype
information released to the media that is designed to gain public attention or support for a person, business, or cause
the newspaper's local stories are often thinly disguised puffery for area businesses
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of puffery
Vendor puffery may also be legal, but that means the IT customer needs a healthy skepticism of the typically too-good-to-be-true promises vendors make.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 23 Nov. 2025
The defendants have been described by one defense lawyer as being video gamers and recreational gun enthusiasts who were engaged in puffery, nothing else.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Which is why, having failed to stop the coming spending cuts with preening puffery and shameless dishonesty, defenders of taxpayer dollars for public media have pulled out the last tool out of their political toolbox.
—Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
IEEE Spectrum, 23 Nov. 2025
The defendants have been described by one defense lawyer as being video gamers and recreational gun enthusiasts who were engaged in puffery, nothing else.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Which is why, having failed to stop the coming spending cuts with preening puffery and shameless dishonesty, defenders of taxpayer dollars for public media have pulled out the last tool out of their political toolbox.
—Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025
That moment taught me the value of candor over puffery.
—Marc Stad, TIME, 16 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for puffery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffery
Noun
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The Final Four hype machine was cooking with gas at Lucas Oil Stadium on Indianapolis as the four NCAA Tournament semifinalists held open practices.—
Ryan Baker,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
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While there’s a lot of hype around biotin supplements for hair growth there just isn’t enough science to back it up.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Storrie is repped by CAA, Atlas Artists, the law firm Yorn Levine and Shelter PR for personal publicity.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Mar. 2026
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Cooper never explicitly raised Jordan’s name in connection with the museum due to trademark and right-of-publicity concerns.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The bill only applies to social media platforms with $1 billion or more in annual advertising revenue, a pool that includes other social media giants such as YouTube and TikTok but may not capture other popular platforms like Discord, which is widely used by gamers.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
2 Apr. 2026
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The broad ban on advertising also raises serious constitutional concerns.—
Cláudia Nunes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Out-of-home impressions are the number of people who see a physical or digital advertisement outside of their home through social media campaigns, billboards, signage and commercials.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 2026
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And research shows young people are particularly at risk of sports gambling problems, lured in by splashy advertisements often featuring celebrities and promises of low risks and high rewards.—
Alana Wise,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Puffery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffery. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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