1
as in flattery
excessive praise
laid the blarney on thick in order to get special treatment from the waitress
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to honey
to praise too much
an eager, young assistant who blarneys the boss shamelessly
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blarney
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
Menu: soda bread with Irish whiskey butter and fried cabbage and rashers; pork bangers and Irish colcannon with red onion gravy and blarney stones and Irish bananas.
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 9 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for blarney
Noun
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
Menu: soda bread with Irish whiskey butter and fried cabbage and rashers; pork bangers and Irish colcannon with red onion gravy and blarney stones and Irish bananas.
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 9 Mar. 2022
See All Example Sentences for blarney
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blarney
Noun
-
Rose said Ye bought into her flattery and liked the idea of drinking booze and playing up his bigshot status.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2026
-
But beneath the lighthearted banter, the personal flattery and the theatrical spectacle that surrounds a royal visit, there remained subtle signs of the deep divisions that have become the most serious test in decades for the long friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But anatomically speaking, this is absolute nonsense.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
Travelers say they're done listening to the nonsense they've been fed.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The plastic bristles coax out loose hair as your cat rubs against it.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
-
When the shots went bad, fans groaned and tried to coax him on.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Her voice, languid and honeyed, can glide over sensual R&B, bouncing reggaetón, shimmering pop or nostalgic jazz.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Those harmonies — simultaneously honeyed and gravelly, providing just enough support without overshadowing, yet so powerful and full of potential — echoes Whitten.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
2 July 2024
Noun
-
The praise from the internet was nice.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Some policies were met with praise In some areas, business priorities did manage to win passage in the legislature this year.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
But for people who consume fewer calories, like Matthews’s mother, those calories and the protein in them are better off coming from whole foods—such as chicken, beans, nuts and vegetables.—
Bethany Brookshire,
Scientific American,
11 May 2026
-
Pistachio nuts are also a favorite go-to snack.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
There was only one other visitor, another mother stroking another small head.—
Fran Moreland Johns,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
On that bed my mother would stroke my hair and hands.—
Chiara Barzini,
Vogue,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
The crowd begged him to come out, tip his cap, take their adulation.—
Paul Hardart,
Fortune,
9 May 2026
-
But those self-adulations are often coupled with warnings that economic development success doesn’t happen by accident and can quickly slip away.—
Zachary Hansen,
AJC.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blarney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blarney. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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