as in debris
discarded or useless material
there's a lot of chaff in this book, and the reader should be on the alert for it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in laugh
good-natured teasing or exchanging of clever remarks
I got no end of chaff about my accent when I was in the military
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
2
as in to joke
to make jokes
a coworker who likes to chaff at others' expense, and this often results in hurt feelings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chaff
Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
That makes the task of sorting wheat from chaff much more time-consuming for editors and referees, and also more technically difficult.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Eventually, at the supercomputer facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany, algorithms designed to spot RFI sorted the wheat from the chaff, reducing those 12 billion to 1 million, then 1,000.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Archaeobotanists find various parts of plants, including seeds, chaff, fruit pits, nutshells and cobs.
—Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Noun
In Figure 2, after the corn stalks are plucked, the cobs are separated and the chaff pulverized.
—Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
That makes the task of sorting wheat from chaff much more time-consuming for editors and referees, and also more technically difficult.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Eventually, at the supercomputer facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany, algorithms designed to spot RFI sorted the wheat from the chaff, reducing those 12 billion to 1 million, then 1,000.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Archaeobotanists find various parts of plants, including seeds, chaff, fruit pits, nutshells and cobs.
—Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaff
Verb
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Castmembers Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posehn and John Ross Bowie took the stage at CCXP Mexico City to tease their project that combines comedy with sci-fi and is set to begin streaming on HBO Max in July.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Apr. 2026
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Creator Bruce Miller was more than happy to tease what’s to come this week in episode 6, while on stage at the Deadline Contenders TV panel.—
Amanda Champagne-Meadows,
Deadline,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As an elder, Mellencamp often jokes about how many tours he was fired from in his salad days, usually because the headlining acts (KISS, REO Speedwagon, British hard rock act Rainbow) and their audiences didn’t take to his kiss-off attitude and misfit energy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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Jonas, who made his Broadway debut at age nine, isn’t joking about all the time she’s spent in the spotlight.—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Young Michael may have seemed strange, or just plain different, to kids his own age, but what about the adult Michael, whose professional life took him outside the family orbit and into offices, studios, and night clubs?—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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Just kidding, but that would’ve been awesome.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Instead of roasting, the dehydrating preserves natural flavor and delivers Daily Crunch's signature Uniquely Crunchy bite.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
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Starbucks ended its fiscal 2025 with 14,000 employees working outside its cafes — ranging from corporate support to roasting and logistics roles.—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Lauren Weisberger published the novel in 2003 after serving as Anna Wintour's personal assistant at Vogue for a year, and the roman à clef fooled no one—least of all anyone who'd ever ridden the elevator at 4 Times Square and emerged spiritually altered.—
Paul Jebara,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 2026
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The Angels weren’t fooled by his cutter and slurve.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaff. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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