malarkey

noun

ma·​lar·​key mə-ˈlär-kē 

variants or less commonly malarky

: insincere or foolish talk : bunkum

He thinks that everything politicians say is a bunch of malarkey.

Synonyms

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Examples of malarkey in a Sentence

He thinks everything politicians say is just a bunch of malarkey.

the old lady declared that everything politicians say is pure malarkey

Recent Examples on the Web

This stuff about Heat Culture is a bunch of malarkey. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2025

This is a part of the whole mandate malarkey in which every recent president (with maybe the exception of George W. Bush in 2001) has claimed a big mandate, even when none existed. —Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 2 May 2025

This Karen Read expert full of malarkey Howie Carr: Crikey! —Matt Stone, Boston Herald, 1 May 2025

There’s novelty but not much else with this musical about two vaudevillian sisters who hoof it to Broadway and find showtunes, out-of-nowhere story interludes that don’t fit and a ton of romantic malarkey. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for malarkey

• autarky
• menarche
• arche
• sparky
• hierarchy
• matriarchy
• oligarchy
• patriarchy