Meaning & use
miffed
Last updated
UK/mɪft/
US/mɪft/
Meaning
adjectiveafter a verbinformal
Mildly annoyed or offended, usually because you feel you were treated badly or ignored.
Grammar: Used after 'be', 'feel', or 'seem', often with 'at', 'about', or 'that'.
Patterns
- be miffed at someone
- be miffed about something
- be miffed that something happened
She was a little miffed that nobody had asked her opinion.
He sounded miffed about being left off the list.
I felt miffed when my brother got the bigger slice.
Word forms
| comparative | more miffed |
|---|---|
| superlative | most miffed |
Common combinations
- slightly miffed
- He looked slightly miffed at the delay.
- a bit miffed
- I'm a bit miffed that nobody called.
- miffed at
- She was miffed at her friends for forgetting.
- miffed about
- They were miffed about the changed schedule.
- rather miffed
- The chef was rather miffed by the criticism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- annoyed
- Annoyed is the plain, general word and can be stronger, while miffed is lighter and slightly humorous.
- peeved
- Peeved is close in strength, but it often suggests petty irritation over a small matter.
- irritated
- Irritated can describe a more lasting, physical or emotional bother, whereas miffed is brief and tied to hurt pride.
- put out
- Put out is a phrase meaning slightly upset or inconvenienced, usually in a polite tone.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
Lena was ______ that her coworkers had forgotten her birthday, though she tried to laugh it off.
Choose one answer.
Miffed suggests mild annoyance and fits someone laughing it off. Furious, devastated, and enraged are much stronger.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “miffed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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