kerfuffle
Americannoun
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of kerfuffle
First recorded in 1945–50; from Scots curfuffle, from cur- (from Scottish Gaelic car “a turn,” from Old Irish cor ) + fuffle “to disorder, confuse” (of imitative origin)
Explanation
A kerfuffle is some kind of commotion, controversy, or fuss. If you read about a scandal in a newspaper, it could be described as a kerfuffle. Kerfuffle is a humorous-sounding word for a mostly non-humorous situation: some kind of disturbance, scandal or mess. However, a kerfuffle usually isn't 100% serious. People talking loudly in public could be making a kerfuffle. If a politician says something embarrassing by accident, it could cause a kerfuffle. Often, people use this word when they think people are making too big a deal of something, as in "What's the kerfuffle all about?"
Vocabulary lists containing kerfuffle
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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The Unteachables
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Paper Towns
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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.
Their live show, coming to play the DC 101 Kerfuffle at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, Sunday, is a blinding surge of exhilaration and power.
From Washington Times • Jun. 25, 2016
Rosen will also co-create The Great Enormo: A Kerfuffle in B Flat for Orchestra, Wasps and Soprano – a children's guide to the orchestra.
From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
