kerfuffle

ker·fuf·fle

(kûr-fŭf′əl)

n. Informal

A to-do or fuss: "Among the oldest corpses from which readable DNA has been extracted is a Neanderthal man. Imagine the kerfuffle if somebody managed to clone him" (Richard Dawkins).

[Scots, variant of curfuffle : cur-, intensive pref. (from Scots Gaelic car, twist, turn about, from Old Irish cor, a turn; see sker- in Indo-European roots) + fuffle, put into disorder (of imitative origin).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

kerfuffle

(kəˈfʌfəl) ,

carfuffle

kurfuffle

informal chiefly Brit commotion; disorder; agitation

(tr) Scot to put into disorder or disarray; ruffle or disarrange

[from Scottish curfuffle, carfuffle, from Scottish Gaelic car twist, turn + fuffle to disarrange]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

kerfuffle

Past participle: kerfuffled
Gerund: kerfuffling

Imperative
kerfuffle
kerfuffle

Present
I kerfuffle
you kerfuffle
he/she/it kerfuffles
we kerfuffle
you kerfuffle
they kerfuffle

Preterite
I kerfuffled
you kerfuffled
he/she/it kerfuffled
we kerfuffled
you kerfuffled
they kerfuffled

Present Continuous
I am kerfuffling
you are kerfuffling
he/she/it is kerfuffling
we are kerfuffling
you are kerfuffling
they are kerfuffling

Present Perfect
I have kerfuffled
you have kerfuffled
he/she/it has kerfuffled
we have kerfuffled
you have kerfuffled
they have kerfuffled

Past Continuous
I was kerfuffling
you were kerfuffling
he/she/it was kerfuffling
we were kerfuffling
you were kerfuffling
they were kerfuffling

Past Perfect
I had kerfuffled
you had kerfuffled
he/she/it had kerfuffled
we had kerfuffled
you had kerfuffled
they had kerfuffled

Future
I will kerfuffle
you will kerfuffle
he/she/it will kerfuffle
we will kerfuffle
you will kerfuffle
they will kerfuffle

Future Perfect
I will have kerfuffled
you will have kerfuffled
he/she/it will have kerfuffled
we will have kerfuffled
you will have kerfuffled
they will have kerfuffled

Future Continuous
I will be kerfuffling
you will be kerfuffling
he/she/it will be kerfuffling
we will be kerfuffling
you will be kerfuffling
they will be kerfuffling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been kerfuffling
you have been kerfuffling
he/she/it has been kerfuffling
we have been kerfuffling
you have been kerfuffling
they have been kerfuffling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been kerfuffling
you will have been kerfuffling
he/she/it will have been kerfuffling
we will have been kerfuffling
you will have been kerfuffling
they will have been kerfuffling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been kerfuffling
you had been kerfuffling
he/she/it had been kerfuffling
we had been kerfuffling
you had been kerfuffling
they had been kerfuffling

Conditional
I would kerfuffle
you would kerfuffle
he/she/it would kerfuffle
we would kerfuffle
you would kerfuffle
they would kerfuffle

Past Conditional
I would have kerfuffled
you would have kerfuffled
he/she/it would have kerfuffled
we would have kerfuffled
you would have kerfuffled
they would have kerfuffled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

kerfuffle - a disorderly outburst or tumult; "they were amazed by the furious disturbance they had caused"

commotion, hoo-ha, hoo-hah, hurly burly, to-do, disruption, disturbance, flutter

disorder - a disturbance of the peace or of public order

turmoil, upheaval, convulsion - a violent disturbance; "the convulsions of the stock market"

earthquake - a disturbance that is extremely disruptive; "selling the company caused an earthquake among the employees"

incident - a public disturbance; "the police investigated an incident at the bus station"

stir, splash - a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event; "he made a great splash and then disappeared"

tempest, storm - a violent commotion or disturbance; "the storms that had characterized their relationship had died away"; "it was only a tempest in a teapot"

storm center, storm centre - a center of trouble or disturbance

garboil, tumult, tumultuousness, uproar - a state of commotion and noise and confusion

Translations

kerfuffle

[kəˈfʌfl] N (Brit) → jaleo m, follón m (Sp)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

kerfuffle

n (Brit inf) (= noise) → Lärm m, → Gedöns nt (inf); (= fight) → Balgerei f (inf); (= trouble) → Theater nt (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

kerfuffle

[kəˈfʌfl] n (Brit) → bagarre f inv

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

SALT LAKE CITY (AFP) - Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller spoke to the crowd Thursday prior to their 120-100 win over Minnesota to address the kerfuffle between Oklahama City's Russell Westbrook and their fans.

NBA: Jazz owner tells fans to behave

THE more you think about it, the more it seems an awful lot of people might have been conned by the kerfuffle at the end of the UFC fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

There's a con in Conor, what about his 'brawl'?

Speaking at Thorpe Park Fright Night, she said: "We burst into the church and the wedding is going on and we cause a kerfuffle. I have to say that Janet's acting is not up to par!"

Linda is back with her Birds; TALK TV

I BELIEVE that kerfuffle about our prime minister using a helicopter for to-and-fro jaunts to Banigala is superficial.

Chopper travel cost

WHY all the kerfuffle about the Scottish Government having a reshuffle of their cabinet?

Texts

* Didja hear Andy Sanborn on NHPR th'uther day, claiming that the kerfuffle over his self-described "crass language" in the presence of a State House intern was 'lake news." Even though the AG has issued a report saying that the incident actually occurred--and the intern was given a part-time job and 200 bucks?

MAKING THE ROUNDS

I think it's important in all the current kerfuffle about BBC salaries to remember the many thousands of BBC regional employees in TV and radio whose incomes in no way match up to some of the extraordinary payments made to those who work for the corporation in London.

A mean obsession about money

They see no need for any more political kerfuffle" Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, denying campaigning to become the new Tory leader.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: A national shift away from student suspensions to different models of discipline management, a kerfuffle over a proposed Mexican-American studies textbook and an interview with Jennifer Ransom Rice of the Texas Cultural Trust.

New in Trib+Edu: New Approach to Student Discipline

I know there's been a bit of a kerfuffle over Moussa Sissoko turning us down and moving on to somewhere he thinks he's better off at, but what extra would he have brought us?

Enner will give us extra

However, when Max is nearly killed by a car during a kerfuffle, Callum skulks away, and his days as a free man may be numbered after Bethany goes to the police station to admit she lied for him.