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naff

American

[naf] / næf /

adjective

unstylish; lacking taste; inferior.

verb (used without object)

to goof off; fool around (often followed by around orabout ).

verb phrase

naff off go away: used as an exclamation of impatience.

naff British

/ næf /

adjective

slang inferior; in poor taste

"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

Other Word Forms

naffness

noun

Etymology

Origin of naff

First recorded in 1955–60, for an earlier sense; perhaps via Polari from Italian, for the adjective; perhaps a corruption of either eff ( def. ) or fanny ( def. ), for the verb

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.

It's the type of film that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025

And certainly, VF has a good track record with its outdoor/workwear brands, which have gone from naff to cool.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2020

Met FallOut Boy for £100 and it was naff.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2019

History teaches us that multi-use vehicles are naff.

From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2018

“No. Nothing like that. There’s food on board. It’s mostly pretty naff — soy protein bars and freeze-dried noodles and whatnot. But its a change from coconut and fish for you.”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023