out of whole cloth
idiom
US, informal
: in order to trick someone into believing what is not true
He would make up stories out of whole cloth just to stir up trouble.
Examples of out of whole cloth in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since crashing the scene late last year, AI chatbots such as ChatGPT have proven themselves capable of crafting college admissions essays, producing viral images out of whole cloth, and spooking everyone from curious journalists to Silicon Valley tech execs.
—
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2023
Contrasted with Trump’s tendency to pull numbers out of thin air, or make up predictions out of whole cloth (witness a recent compilation of his coronavirus press avails on Late Night with Seth Meyers), Biden’s style adheres far more closely to best management practices.
—Will Jeakle, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021
Excuses were made, objections created out of whole cloth, legal precedent ignored or sidestepped for four unparalleled years that gave America a special counsel probe, two impeachments, constant churn at the Department of Justice and an insurrection at the Capitol.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 July 2021
Some of the Conjuring universe movies are entirely made up out of whole cloth but this one is inspired by a real incident, a real court case.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 June 2021
Creating jobs out of whole cloth was one of her specialties.
—Longreads, 18 May 2021
Perry Mason, the first season of which is clearly modeled after a superhero origin story, invents an elaborate backstory out of whole cloth for the character, and grounds it, naturally, in trauma.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 25 June 2020
As bars and restaurants in Michigan begin reopening dining rooms, many operators are going beyond the pivot to carryout and reinventing themselves out of whole cloth to adapt to diners' reset whims.
—Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, 12 June 2020
Many drivers stopped with those charges argue that they were manufactured out of whole cloth.
—John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 9 Feb. 2022
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2023
Contrasted with Trump’s tendency to pull numbers out of thin air, or make up predictions out of whole cloth (witness a recent compilation of his coronavirus press avails on Late Night with Seth Meyers), Biden’s style adheres far more closely to best management practices.
—Will Jeakle, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021
Excuses were made, objections created out of whole cloth, legal precedent ignored or sidestepped for four unparalleled years that gave America a special counsel probe, two impeachments, constant churn at the Department of Justice and an insurrection at the Capitol.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 July 2021
Some of the Conjuring universe movies are entirely made up out of whole cloth but this one is inspired by a real incident, a real court case.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 June 2021
Creating jobs out of whole cloth was one of her specialties.
—Longreads, 18 May 2021
Perry Mason, the first season of which is clearly modeled after a superhero origin story, invents an elaborate backstory out of whole cloth for the character, and grounds it, naturally, in trauma.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 25 June 2020
As bars and restaurants in Michigan begin reopening dining rooms, many operators are going beyond the pivot to carryout and reinventing themselves out of whole cloth to adapt to diners' reset whims.
—Mark Kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, 12 June 2020
Many drivers stopped with those charges argue that they were manufactured out of whole cloth.
—John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 9 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'out of whole cloth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near out of whole cloth
Cite this Entry
“Out of whole cloth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/out%20of%20whole%20cloth. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share