as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
a movie about the disaster that's pure Hollywood hokum
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Recent Examples of hokum
From the foothills of the Berkshires arises a venerable strain of American madness, the poetry of hokum—the old weird America of medicine shows and travelling circuses and carnivals.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Ultimately, what saves the movie is the cast and crew’s expert devotion to its polished, well-meaning hokum.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
In past case studies of argyria, a common source is hokum therapies promoted by naturopaths and their ilk.
—Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2025
The Tribune eventually admitted in print that its story was intentional hokum.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokum
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Ultimately, what saves the movie is the cast and crew’s expert devotion to its polished, well-meaning hokum.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
In past case studies of argyria, a common source is hokum therapies promoted by naturopaths and their ilk.
—Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2025
The Tribune eventually admitted in print that its story was intentional hokum.
—Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hokum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hokum
Noun
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No gimmicks, no nonsense, straight shooter, the woman who gets things done.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
This was the nonsense that was going on here last week, just like every week.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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And the magic elixir is able to turn garbage into Jan Ravnik, Swift's pinup backup dancer.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Every winter, construction machines work around the clock to clear tons of garbage — plastic, furniture, medical waste — clogging the Drina River.—
Eldar Emric,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Mediterranean diet has nuts, beans and fish as primary sources of protein, and MyPlate focuses on lean meats as well.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
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Avoid allergens While most multivitamin companies avoid using common allergens like soy, nuts and dairy, some share production facilities.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There is plenty of silliness in this year’s commercials.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
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The silliness betrays the seriousness.—
J. Aaron Sanders,
STAT,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Piles of human scraps offer a bottomless buffet to wildlife, and to access that bounty, animals need to be bold enough to rummage through human rubbish but not so bold as to become a threat to people.—
Marina Wang,
Scientific American,
14 Nov. 2025
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Helga once wrestled down a drunk fisherman in the Café, a man of above-average size, and then threw him out like a piece of rubbish; Jens thus transfers most of his weight automatically to her; who is this kid, by the way?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Switch Out Your Throw Pillows Bringing some new throw pillows into the mix can take your living room from blah to beautiful, designers say.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
31 Jan. 2026
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In other words, our complexion is looking pallid, our skin is dry, and our overall appearance is just a little blah at the moment.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Huw just spazzes out most of the time, and Patrick is incredibly transparent and succeeds more because of luck and the stupidity of others rather than his own intellect.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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My love of the theater and my love of the people who dedicate their life to creativity and the kind of highs and lows of that life, and the silliness and stupidity of that life, and the moments of elegiac grace.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hokum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hokum. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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