Synonyms of chaff

chaff 1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈchaf 

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

• debris
• garbage
• dust
• trash
• rubbish
• junk
• rubble
• dross
• litter
• sewage
• truck
• waste
• offal
• deadwood
• riffraff
• refuse
• effluvium
• wreckage
• dreck
• scrap
• raffle
• offscouring
• lumber
• detritus
• wash
• spilth
• ruins
• crud
• swill
• straw
• trumpery
• flotsam
• remains
• dump
• jetsam
• discard
• scrap heap
• slop
• cull
• nothing
• reject
• odds and ends
• throwaway
• two bits
• castoff
• hand-me-down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pearl
• treasure
• prize
• plum
• catch
• gem
• trove
• jewel
• treasure trove
• find
• goody
• valuable
• booty
• salvage

chaff

2 of 3

noun (2)

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

• laugh
• joke
• banter
• badinage
• repartee
• chatter
• raillery
• persiflage
• jesting
• humor
• ribbing
• humorousness
• give-and-take
• joshing
• wit
• barb
• gossip
• gag
• nothings
• witticism
• quip
• kidding
• pleasantry
• sally
• wisecrack
• richness
• gambit
• backchat
• funniness
• dig
• facetiousness
• mocking
• fooling
• wordplay
• crack
• jest
• small talk
• ridiculing
• waggery
• razzing
• chitchat
• drollness
• hilariousness

chaff

3 of 3

verb

1

as in to tease

to make fun of in a good-natured way

chaffed her about the brightly colored shirt she had received as a gift

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tease
• kid
• joke
• roast
• jive
• rib
• razz
• josh
• goof on
• banter
• fool
• take the mickey out of
• rally
• ride
• fun
• quip
• string along
• jest
• jolly
• wisecrack
• jape
• gag
• yuk

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

• joke
• fun
• fool
• banter
• quip
• jive
• jest
• rag
• jolly
• kid
• jape
• ridicule
• haze
• yuk
• wisecrack
• gag
• crack wise
• jeer
• tease
• josh
• rib
• amuse
• gibe
• mock
• parody
• entertain
• caricature
• satirize
• razz
• lampoon
• rally
• divert

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of chaff

Noun

Turn on the fan, and the moving air will blow away the lighter chaff. — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Apr. 2026

An interesting life and lots of history here, but Kaplan was unable to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff, to my dismay. — The Know, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026

The grain, straw, and chaff of fonio are used as fodder for ruminant animals. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Mar. 2026

In these latest cuts, some of the other firings were in sales, recruiting, and Facebook, signaling that Zuckerberg is separating the chaff in non-AI related units beyond its flailing Metaverse division. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026