Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kerfuffle

/kɚˈfʌfəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.30 in modern English

Syllables: ker-fuf-fle
IPA: /kɚˈfʌfəl/

22

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult.

Informal

verb

To make a disorderly outburst or commotion.

British usage; Informal; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"You know all this kerfuffle about Jordan and Peter Andre, and how you don’t know if they’re really splitting up or it’s just an act[…]"
"There's been a bit of a kerfuffle the past couple days over something Sarah Palin said about Paul Revere."
"The debate seemed innocuous—a minor kerfuffle, but nothing that couldn’t be resolved and moved on from."

Etymology

Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- + fuffle, or related to Irish cíor thuathail (“confusion, bewilderment”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

Word Breakdown

Prefix: ker
Root: curfuffle

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kɚˈfʌfəl/
British English: /kəˈfʌfəl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

kerfuffles (plural) cufuffle (alternative) cuffuffle (alternative) curfuffle (alternative) gefuffle (alternative) kafuffle (alternative) kerfluff (alternative) kerfluffle (alternative) kurfuffle (alternative) fuffle (alternative) kerfuffles (present, singular) kerfuffling (participle, present)

Derived Forms

kerfluff kerfuffly

Synonyms

brouhaha donnybrook fracas hubbub hullabaloo mess racket disturbance disruption commotion flutter hurly burly

Rhymes With

shuffle truffle reshuffle scuffle ruffle duffel muffle duffell kuffel snuffle buffle scruffle

Questions

How do you pronounce kerfuffle?: The recorded pronunciation is /kɚˈfʌfəl/.
What does kerfuffle mean?: A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult.
Where does kerfuffle come from?: Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- + fuffle, or related to Irish cíor thuathail (“confusion, bewilderment”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

How to pronounce kerfuffle

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kerfuffle”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kɚˈfʌfəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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