Naff

/næf/ · adjective

Meaning

(British, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial, Polari) Bad; tasteless, poorly thought out, not workable..

Definitions by Sense

1. (British, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial, Polari) Bad; tasteless, poorly thought out, not workable.
2. (Polari) Heterosexual.

Example Sentences

That tie is a bit naff, don’t you think?

She was an ordinary woman in her dress style; she didn't wear a leather bodice or naff over-knee plastic spiky-heeled boots.

I mean ten years ago a bit of charlie was for pop stars or a celebrities birthday bash. It was demonized by Daily Mail Readers getting drunk in naff wine bars.

Remember, “tacky” means “cheap or glitzy”, whereas “naff” is about stylistic shortcomings which are horrifyingly average and pathetically ordinary. The Jersey Shore is tacky, but The Bachelor is naff.

A mere seven years after her tragic death, isn’t it grim and tasteless to send her hologram off on some naff tour?

Note that last phrase: what actually emerged was a virtual-reality platform called Horizon Worlds, accessible only via naff and clunky Oculus headsets (think an uncomfortable version of Zoom) […]

Did you see Elon Musk apologise for some tweets this week? (Please don’t be naff and call them “X posts”.)

The omie was a veritable donkey beneath the waistband, darlings. A donkey! No wonder your boss-palone is so smitten. I've seen my share, dollies, but this old omiepalone was shaken to the core. Such a terrible waste on a naff bloke.

Synonyms for naff

Antonyms for naff

Related Words

Word Forms

• naffer
• naffest

Usage Notes

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