variants
or cockamamie
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter
a cockamamy plan that could only have been dreamt up by a cartoonish mad scientist
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cockamamy
Affleck directs and stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA exfiltration specialist who comes up with a cockamamie scheme to free a group of hostages hiding in the home of a Canadian diplomat.
—
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cockamamy
Adjective
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The meme may have been ridiculous, but Edward Hospital’s original goal — showing the public what robotic surgery could do — reached an audience far larger than a hospital marketing department could have planned for.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
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Villa’s ridiculous finishing hot streak ended abruptly, but their underlying numbers had also regressed during that time.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This series is inspired by the shocking and absurd true story of the suburban dentist who built a drug empire behind the façade of the American dream.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
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To consider Karaban as anything but an abject success story is absurd.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The group never uses the word unless there is something silly going on.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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For Grabinski, what unites all of these projects is the fine art of creating a world that is emotionally smart yet deeply silly, fun, and expressive.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The politicians who shut down the government are pathetic on both sides of the aisle.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
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His Floyd constantly straddles the line between sweet and pathetic, often falling off one side or the other.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Evening rush-hour commuters — who thought winter was over — felt foolish after the city was socked with a record-breaking spring snowfall.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
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The glamorous branding of premium cards can also lead some consumers to make foolish mistakes by running up high-interest credit card debt.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Of course, sometimes the situation is more serious than stupid.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
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The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cockamamy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cockamamy. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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