Synonyms of blarney

blarney 1 of 2

noun

ˈblär-nē 

1

as in nonsense

language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense

his excuse was his usual blarney about how he'd love to help out but he was just so darned busy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nonsense
• nuts
• silliness
• rubbish
• garbage
• blah
• drool
• stupidity
• hokum
• jazz
• balderdash
• muck
• baloney
• guff
• blither
• malarkey
• twaddle
• bunk
• folderol
• bunkum
• claptrap
• poppycock
• piffle
• hogwash
• hooey
• fudge
• absurdity
• blatherskite
• blather
• tommyrot
• trumpery
• tosh
• foolishness
• flapdoodle
• craziness
• codswallop
• humbuggery
• beans
• crock
• fiddle
• insanity
• fiddlesticks
• absurdness
• bull
• bilge
• punk
• trash
• madness
• rot
• crapola
• bosh
• drivel
• taradiddle
• horsefeathers
• folly
• humbug
• applesauce
• moonshine
• fiddle-faddle
• hokeypokey
• hoodoo
• nerts
• flannel
• senselessness
• idiocy
• slush
• tomfoolery
• foolery
• kookiness
• inanity
• greek
• asininity
• lunacy
• witlessness
• fatuity
• imbecility
• hocus-pocus
• gas
• rigmarole
• double-talk
• monkey business
• inaneness
• hoity-toity
• hot air
• monkeyshine(s)
• shenanigan(s)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reasonableness
• rationality
• sense
• common sense
• sensibleness
• wisdom
• horse sense
• levelheadedness
• reasonability
• judgment
• discernment

2

as in flattery

excessive praise

laid the blarney on thick in order to get special treatment from the waitress

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flattery
• praise
• adulation
• acclaim
• sweet talk
• incense
• butter
• adoration
• flannel
• taffy
• blandishments
• applause
• overpraise
• compliments
• respects
• endearments
• caresses
• soft soap
• felicitations
• greetings
• congratulations
• regards
• worship
• fawning
• cajolery
• sycophancy
• allurements
• idolatry
• smarm
• ingratiation
• toadying
• commendation
• cajolement

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• disparagement
• depreciation
• detraction
• belittlement
• bad-mouthing
• put-down

blarney

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to coax

to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery

attendants at the nursing home sometimes have to blarney the patients to take their medicine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• coax
• wheedle
• cajole
• palaver
• lure
• seduce
• woo
• blandish
• soft-soap
• sweet-talk
• charm
• beg
• entice
• urge
• massage
• beseech
• tempt
• overpraise
• flatter
• importune
• adulate
• wile
• wangle
• butter up
• cozen
• juggle
• beguile
• finagle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• tease
• cow
• bug
• harass
• nag
• intimidate
• force
• pester
• bully
• demand
• require
• compel
• coerce
• oblige
• browbeat
• make
• constrain
• bulldoze

2

as in to honey

to praise too much

an eager, young assistant who blarneys the boss shamelessly

Synonyms & Similar Words

• honey
• praise
• stroke
• massage
• commend
• congratulate
• puff
• applaud
• soft-soap
• overpraise
• flatter
• adulate
• coax
• hero-worship
• woo
• butter up
• wheedle
• belaud
• cajole
• kowtow
• fawn
• compliment
• blandish
• suck (up to)
• toady
• extol
• romance
• sweet-talk
• laud
• eulogize
• gush
• ingratiate
• slobber
• idolize
• endear
• worship
• felicitate
• slaver
• drool
• court

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• put down
• disparage
• decry
• depreciate
• belittle
• bad-mouth

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of blarney

Noun

Dinner, blarney and shenanigans with music and entertainment from Todd Menton (founder of Boiled in Lead), Peter Guertin, The O’Shea Irish Dancers and Katie McMahon (voice of River Dance). — Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2025

To many would-be publishers, the title sounded like a bunch of blarney — even in the early 1990s, many people still considered Ireland a conservative backwater and a cultural appendage to Britain. — Clay Risen, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022

After years of listening to Boris Johnson’s blarney, many Britons have had their fill, at least for now, of hot air cleverly channelled. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2022

This might come as a surprise given the outsized and blarney-filled headlines on social media to the contrary. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 June 2022

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