miff

American  

[mif] / mɪf /

noun

1. petulant displeasure; ill humor.

2. a petty quarrel.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give minor offense to; offend.

   Synonyms:

   vex, irritate, provoke, annoy

miff British  

/ mɪf /

verb

1. to take offence or offend

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noun

1. a petulant mood

2. a petty quarrel

Etymology

Origin of miff

1615–25; perhaps imitative of exclamation of disgust; compare German muffen to sulk

Explanation

The verb miff is an informal way to say "annoy." If your sister's constant humming is starting to drive you crazy, you can tell her it miffs you. Long ago, the word miff was also used to mean "huff" or "pique," so you might have described yourself as "in a miff" about your sister's tuneless humming. These days, you're more likely to see the adjective miffed describing someone who's irked: "I am so miffed that none of my friends came to my party on time." Experts guess that miff comes from the annoyed sound you might make when you're really miffed.

Example Sentences

But then he’ll dig out a joke and do something that might hurt his business — and miff his investors — because, well, he thinks that something is the right thing to do.

From New York Times • Oct. 6, 2012

I don't doubt it: you resemble Achilles, when he and Agamemnon had their miff.

From The Last of the Foresters Or, Humors on the Border; A story of the Old Virginia Frontier by Cooke, John Esten

Well, Pretty Patty must have a miff of some sort.

From Patty's Butterfly Days by Wells, Carolyn

"Been fishing lately?" he asked easily, as though he had not left her that day in a miff.

From Her Prairie Knight by Bower, B. M.

An' then if he should have a whiff In there, 'twould only breed a miff: He cānt smoke there, vor smoke woon't goo 'Ithin the footy little flue.

From Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect by Barnes, William