as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
the characterizations are good, but the plot is just ho-hum
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Meghan Holloran, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2025
In a sense, the AI is statistically going to generalize on wedding speeches and tend toward a kind of ho-hum common ground.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 17 May 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
See how a ho-hum beige home became a bright, colorful paradise with just new paint and furniture swaps.
—Meghan Holloran, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2025
In a sense, the AI is statistically going to generalize on wedding speeches and tend toward a kind of ho-hum common ground.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ho hum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ho hum
Adjective
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This is worlds away from that boring deli chicken sandwich, while still being easy enough to whip up on the busiest of days.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
28 June 2025
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The contract’s scope of work includes the single bore tunnel, station entrances and exits, the excavation of underground stations and the procurement of a tunnel boring machine.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
27 June 2025
Interjection
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Williams also recalled witnessing the Super Bowl crowd boo Taylor Swift when she was shown on the jumbotron cheering on her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Highlights include a costume parade (for kids and parents), a Purim story and boo Haman and songs.—
Linda McIntosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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The whales often appear unbothered, turning gently toward swimmers or drifting by in slow, graceful passes.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
5 July 2025
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Now, in the new study, researchers have gathered data that supports the theory that the demise of tropical forests, and their slow recovery, limited carbon sequestration – a process where carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in plants, soils or minerals.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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Seeing that expansion and contraction over and over for six episodes (let alone three seasons) can grow tiring, and Season 3 certainly suffers from a sense of exhaustion.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
27 June 2025
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Now in his 80s trips to the islands are more challenging, and maintaining a boat that can make the journey is expensive and tiring.—
Kathleen Rellihan,
Outside Online,
8 June 2025
Adjective
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And what often emerges instead is a dull kind of numbness, chronic irritability or total withdrawal.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Commercial or bulk matcha is often a dull yellowish or brown color, coarse in texture, and noticeably bitter.—
Devorah Lev-Tov,
Vogue,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Mexican men were dismissed as violent Panchos and stupid Pedros.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
24 June 2025
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There’s more stupid romance around harder substances but few chemicals are more hazardous to ambition than THC.—
Benjamin Hale
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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But others may hear Xi Jinping’s call not as a rallying cry but as a weary echo of the past.—
JOSEPH TORIGIAN,
Foreign Affairs,
23 June 2025
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After dark, there’s a Midnight Snack cart delivering warm, comfort-food bites to weary red-eye travelers (because New York never sleeps, and neither do airport people).—
Paul Rubio,
AFAR Media,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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The departing older president, the incoming younger Kennedy.—
Dr. Richard Fichman,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
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While older South Koreans remain most at risk, suicide is now the leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 39.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ho hum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ho%20hum. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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