as in quarrel
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
got into a little tiff about what color sheets to buy for their bed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
like any couple, they occasionally tiff, but it's never anything serious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of tiff
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
On this week’s New Heights, Clooney — who’s been married to Amal since 2014 and shares two twin children with her — went on to share his outlook on spousal tiffs with the Kelce brothers.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
When his father became king in 2015, Prince Mohammed was portrayed as impulsive — launching a war in Yemen, dragging the country into tiffs with Canada and Germany, and famously cracking down on fellow princes and billionaires.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
Returning home from some opening or other one evening, Marta (Rohrwacher) and her partner Antonio (Elio Germano) get into an apparently familiar argument — more of a tiff really — that for some reason this time escalates towards a different end, with Antonio moving out.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiff
Noun
Their tiffs were almost entirely about women dancing suggestively on prime-time television.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
On this week’s New Heights, Clooney — who’s been married to Amal since 2014 and shares two twin children with her — went on to share his outlook on spousal tiffs with the Kelce brothers.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
When his father became king in 2015, Prince Mohammed was portrayed as impulsive — launching a war in Yemen, dragging the country into tiffs with Canada and Germany, and famously cracking down on fellow princes and billionaires.
—Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 24 Nov. 2025
Returning home from some opening or other one evening, Marta (Rohrwacher) and her partner Antonio (Elio Germano) get into an apparently familiar argument — more of a tiff really — that for some reason this time escalates towards a different end, with Antonio moving out.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tiff
Noun
-
In a 2024 study, researchers found that chimpanzee mothers tended to step in to defend their children in quarrels—say, over food or space in a tree—in about half of cases the researchers observed in the wild.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
10 May 2026
-
As the trio quarrels, bonds and ventures through the wild unknown, Felix discovers that true bravery may change not only his own destiny, but also the future of his home.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Whereas The Late Show’s prior steward, David Letterman, was happier to playfully bicker with guests, his successor took a surprisingly heady path.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
-
Since then, showrunner Tim Minear and the rest of the writers have played up the actors' natural chemistry, playing into both the characters' bickering dynamic and their willingness to do anything, including risking their lives, for one another.—
Sabienna Bowman,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Charles Melton plays an American GI named Private K who’s trying to locate his daughter and keeps getting into bloody altercations.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
20 May 2026
-
The argument escalates into a physical altercation, with the two characters coming to blows in the middle of the newsroom.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Callie and Arizona: Another couple spatting over kids.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Mulroney, Ackerman, Snow, and Newman turn this story of spatting WAGS into an explosive, addictive watch.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The dispute has also been tied to retention, with discontent feeding concerns that talent may leave for SK Hynix, Samsung’s aggressive memory rival.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
There is no formal system for resolving disputes over impressions, and performers often avoid escalating them publicly — Hammond among them.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The Steelers will likely win around 10 games and once again be fighting into the final weeks of the season for a playoff berth.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The Warsh view A concern with Miran's approach is that, if the Fed keeps looking through supply shocks, markets and the public will doubt its inflation-fighting credibility.—
Matt Peterson,Steve Liesman,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Since the controversies erupted, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been engaged in discussions, including leaders of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus.—
Nikole Killion,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
Was that a conscious decision after the controversy surrounding past tweets that made some people see you as a villain during the Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign?—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Anyone seriously arguing now that money wasn't a major or even the decisive factor here?—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
19 May 2026
-
At the civil trial, plaintiffs argued Parker failed to properly investigate the reports of the gun.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tiff. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
