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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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
The blarney is still strong here (lapsing into Irish dialect is an occupational hazard of reading him), but these characters also act.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for blarney
Noun
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
The blarney is still strong here (lapsing into Irish dialect is an occupational hazard of reading him), but these characters also act.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2022
See All Example Sentences for blarney
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blarney
Noun
-
Hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, eh?—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
-
These evocations of the French master in a daily newspaper are not the stuff of flattery.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Understanding the hilarity and nonsense of this comment can help understand why there is so much division in our country today.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The dystopian extreme is AI model collapse, in which systems trained heavily on their own output begin to produce nonsense.—
R. Alexander Bentley,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But the nocturnal and reclusive New Zealand native bird ’s fate is teetering toward survival after an unlikely conservation effort that has coaxed the population from 50 to more than 200 over three decades.—
Charlotte Graham-McLay,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Meanwhile, outreach workers worked to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and warming centers.—
Anthony Izaguirre,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 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
-
In a piece for HoopsHype this week, longtime NBA agent Bernie Lee lavished praise on Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who blew Lee away during a free agent meeting last summer.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Republican praise for military action Texas Republicans broadly framed the strikes as justified and necessary, saying the operation projected American strength and sent a deterrent message.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The spline structure inside the nuts, the non-fixed gripping posture, and interference from magnetic forces significantly increased assembly complexity.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Pillowy layers of white cake make this one a classic, but an assortment of fruits and nuts like cherries and pecans set it apart.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When Robbie first strokes the plush walls, her Cathy stares with the appropriate mix of awe and terror.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
9 Feb. 2026
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She was later reunited with her dog, stroking him in stunned silence before being taken to the hospital.—
Danielle Bacher,
PEOPLE,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This recognition and adulation came at the end of a decade that was perhaps the hardest in Katharine’s working life.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The chamber erupted in applause as the semi-toothed heroes who beat Canada in Milan basked in the adulation of the United States Congress.—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blarney.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blarney. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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