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Synonyms

fluffy

American  
[fluhf-ee] / ˈflʌf i /

adjective

fluffier, comparative fluffiest superlative
  1. of, resembling, or covered with fluff.

  2. light or airy.

    a fluffy cake.

  3. having little or no intellectual weight; superficial or frivolous.

    fluffy thinking.


fluffy British  
/ ˈflʌfɪ /

adjective

  1. of, resembling, or covered with fluff

  2. soft and light

    fluffy hair

    1. sentimental or overromantic; not very intelligent

    2. characterized by nonviolent methods

      fluffy environmentalist protestors

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of fluffy

First recorded in 1815–25; fluff + -y 1

Explanation

Things that are soft and airy look and feel fluffy. Down comforters, buttermilk pancakes, certain cats, and big snowflakes are all fluffy. Many things that are fluffy give comfort, like the soft pillows on your bed. But sometimes fluffy is a put-down. News programs that tell you everything about celebrities and nothing about important events are fluffy. So are silly, pointless conversations — which, like favorite pillows, are sometimes exactly what you need.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing fluffy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In fact, this rager was Hello Kitty–themed—with trippy visuals of the fluffy cat blaring behind the DJs—and was hosted by the Dave & Buster’s in Ontario, California, just over 35 miles outside Los Angeles.

From Slate Jun. 25, 2026

She makes a "smoothie" out of her fluffy yellow cream, rubbing blobs on the back of her hand and mixing it with a tinted moisturiser.

From BBC Jun. 6, 2026

Craving fluffy and warm scrambled eggs… without any actual eggs?

From Salon May 24, 2026

Say, for instance, a fluffy Sasquatch, or a crooner of a moon in pajamas singing an old-timey lullaby to all the little ones seated cross-legged on the floor.

From Los Angeles Times May 20, 2026

“If that chow chow flicks her fluffy fur one more time, I swear it’s going to fly off.”

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

It’s a regulatory agency, and its mission since its founding in 1934 has been to protect investors, not to make things fluffier for stock issuers.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 8, 2026

On the fluffier human-interest side, in the bright light of morning programming, her interviewing style looked more antagonistic than sharp.

From Slate May 6, 2026

"It's often fluffier or a: 'Oh, we have a trans person in this, but we're not really gonna talk about it or talk about their experiences'."

From BBC Nov. 25, 2025

Even though prior observation of the Milky Way showed these filaments were present in molecular clouds which became sites for star formation, Alma’s SMC studies demonstrate that stars can also form in fluffier conditions.

From Salon Feb. 22, 2025

And Miss Nickall, with her grey hair growing fluffier under a somewhat rakish hat, said with a smile of sheer intense watchful benevolence: “Well, good-bye!”

From The Lion's Share by Bennett, Arnold

Astronomers have identified two of the fluffiest giant planets ever discovered, with densities so low they are actually less dense than cotton candy.

From Science Daily Jun. 27, 2026

For the fluffiest results, mix this banana-and-buttermilk pancake batter minimally.

From New York Times Mar. 31, 2023

So it's possible that baking potatoes whole, then hand-mashing their interiors with the same amounts of melted butter, warmed cream, and salt could bear the fluffiest, least-waterlogged mash yet.

From Salon Oct. 10, 2021

Another idea: After bath time, take the biggest, fluffiest towel you have and wrap them like a burrito as tightly as you can.

From Slate Apr. 23, 2020

They are the softest, fluffiest things ever, like pompoms, even if they do poop on your hands sometimes.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

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