1
as in scratches
to damage by rubbing against a sharp or rough surface
scuffed up her shoes by rubbing her feet under the rung of the chair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
the miners scuffed past in heavy boots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffs
Liam Tharme, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
Liverpool are fortunate that Marcus Tavernier scuffs his shot straight at Alisson.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffs
Verb
-
Light scratches in just the poly can be remedied with a 'restoring' product like Rejuvenate.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Article’s Torme desk scratches the itch for office furniture that isn’t sterile or corporate-looking.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
-
That is not unique — Major League Baseball’s offseason shuffles along at a deliberate pace, just as the Dodgers historically have liked.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Fennell begins on a black screen and the sound of creaks and moans.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Inside the Sámi church, centuries-old wood creaks under candlelight—while at Nutti Sámi Siida (a reindeer lodge offering traditional Sámi experiences), visitors sip warm lingonberry juice and listen to joik songs.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Meyer helped design a tracking system that scrapes data from Zillow to detect price hikes greater than 10%.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Kgasi makes his way down to one of the vertical surfaces of the pit and scrapes it gently.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Repeatedly, the project seems to transcend the projects, defying gravity in its poetic depiction of how this resilient, supportive community comes together around Lil Ant, stepping in where his father stumbles to embrace the boy.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
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Soon after, Bradley stumbles on Zuri’s body and confronts Linda, resulting in a brutal fight that includes stabbing, scalp ripping, and some really upsetting eye gouging.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Idris the Valentine’s cow stomps in the footsteps of Squishmallows’ viral strawberry cow and the subsequent bestselling blueberry cow.—
Jacquelyn Smith,
Parents,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Oscar-winning composer Daniel Blumberg was tasked with layering in claps, stomps and screams.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffs. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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