cockamamy

adjective

ˌkä-kə-ˈmā-mē How to pronounce cockamamy (audio)
variants or cockamamie
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter a cockamamy plan that could only have been dreamt up by a cartoonish mad scientist

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cockamamy Eventually, the fake celebrity needs money for some cockamamie reason. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026 Affleck directs and stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA exfiltration specialist who comes up with a cockamamie scheme to free a group of hostages hiding in the home of a Canadian diplomat. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cockamamy
  1. ridiculous
  2. absurd
  3. silly
  4. pathetic
  5. foolish
  6. stupid
Adjective
  • While the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI won’t be available on PC this month, some gamers are making ridiculous preparations to use their PC graphics cards to apply Nvidia’s DLSS 5 technology to the console exclusive.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026
  • First, the incident pushes Rhys to finally get over his ridiculous grudge and mistrust of Nesta for her actions in Flame and Shadow.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ridiculous
Adjective
  • At the start of this election cycle, the notion that Democrats would seriously compete in such deep-red bastions as Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas would have seemed absurd.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • For the second of two F--- Cancer gigs, Reynoso has racked up a gloriously absurd 13 local bands on one madcap, rapid-fire club bill, where each will swarm the stage rig to plug in and play 10-minute sets before giving way to the next act.
    — Aaron Davis, Sacbee.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • What became apparent to us was that the game was like a sponge for silly ideas.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026
  • This week was packed with pre-midterm drama, of which only the silliest is in the quiz.
    — Holly J. Morris, NPR, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • In fact, the only previous cinematic encounter was the unfortunate 2003 live-action version with Mike Myers that flopped critically and at the box office, winning a pathetic 10 Razzie nominations as one of the worst pictures of that year.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Simply pathetic, but, MY LIONS stay close in the NFC North race and sets up what should be one of the biggest Thanksgiving Day games in Lions history when the Bears come to town on November 26.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of pathetic
Adjective
  • Serene predictions are a mug’s game, foolish in the extreme, whether they are based on polls or magical thinking.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The Kilplased, the foolish yet industrious folk, are making a film about themselves!
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • As stupid and trad as the wife-in-the-kitchen expectation is, that’s just a surface issue.
    — Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Billionaires presumably didn't become billionaires by being stupid, and only the supremely stupid could fail to see what's coming in California.
    — Bradley Gitz, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of stupid

Browse Nearby Words

cockalorums
cockamamy
cock a snook (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Cockamamy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cockamamy. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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