as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
the characterizations are good, but the plot is just ho-hum
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ho hum
Bill Field, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025
Depending on whether the context is stable (everyday ho hum) or unstable (e.g., COVID-19; tariff wars; geopolitical instability etc.), the cues that get signalled and the way leaders signal these messages change.
—Ellen Choi, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Stroud had a nice second year, but didn’t challenge the elite tier at the position and his Texans had a relatively ho-hum season, finishing with the same record and another divisional round loss.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ho hum
Adjective
The distinction between being unique and ho hum is as thin as the crust.
—Bill Field, Hartford Courant, 19 June 2025
Depending on whether the context is stable (everyday ho hum) or unstable (e.g., COVID-19; tariff wars; geopolitical instability etc.), the cues that get signalled and the way leaders signal these messages change.
—Ellen Choi, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Interjection
The Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman starring title has bad reviews at 63% and a ho-hum audience score of 76%.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Stroud had a nice second year, but didn’t challenge the elite tier at the position and his Texans had a relatively ho-hum season, finishing with the same record and another divisional round loss.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ho hum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ho hum
Adjective
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Lina had given up pretending to sleep; her parents were boring today.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
8 Oct. 2025
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Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).—
Bianca Davino,
Refinery29,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Losing is so deeply ingrained in the fabric of this franchise that every slow start has the potential to snowball.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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His administration has seen some success; inflation in Argentina eased this year to the slowest monthly pace in more than four years.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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However, some Republicans have spoken out against her and recently reported that some administration officials are tiring of her, suggesting her influence is not unbridled.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Oct. 2025
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The first trimester was always tiring.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Transform your bathroom into a mini spa with the best Prime Day beauty devices, designed to target everything from stubborn hair, dull skin, barrier health, and more.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
8 Oct. 2025
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While each of these events is fun and amps up the excitement around Halloween, one has to wonder if all the lead-up really does is dull the finale.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
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America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In a democracy that grows weary from tribal warfare, independence can be an act of public service and personal liberation.—
John H Bolthouse,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Oct. 2025
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Now, supporters react with weary resignation.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Interjection
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The new iPad Pro marks the point midway between the way things were (Bezel? Yuck!) and the way they soon will be (Nothing but screen.—
David Pierce,
WIRED,
12 June 2017
Adjective
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But that’s exactly what the 48-year-old CEO advises that Gen Zers today, who are struggling to get a footing and even getting fired months into new roles, should embrace.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
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Despite appearances to the contrary—the swirling sentences, the feverish intellection—there is nothing hermetic about Krasznahorkai’s work, both old and new, which squarely faces contemporary European reality and its perils, including the tortured dynamics of settlement, movement, and identity.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ho hum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ho%20hum. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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