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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Crucially, the eggs were fittingly fluffy, none of that rubbery nonsense that plague lesser burrito slingers.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
6 Nov. 2025
-
All’s Fair is girlboss nonsense.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The burger was never refrigerated and spent most of its life in cupboards, garbage bags and sheds.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Beijing — When Ho Puay-peng first visited Beijing’s Forbidden City in the late 1980s, the Singaporean architect saw many of the historic courtyards used for storage, filled with garbage, and occupied by danwei (government offices).—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In a recording shared by his family, Dailey recounted driving his 2002 silver Dodge Dakota up the Swamp Lake Trail, reaching the top safely and stopping to snack on some jerky and a handful of nuts, ABC News reported.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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The crew can now prepare ingredients like nuts, cakes, and fresh vegetables using the oven and other cooking tools.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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While there are some moments of excessive silliness, the filmmaker mainly finds the proper balance throughout, resulting in a winning movie that should satisfy a fairly wide age group.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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The silliness of this analysis could at least be matched by a silliness in tone.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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When firefighters arrived at the scene, multiple cars and piles of rubbish were on fire.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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One hurdle for these editors is that far-right hate is more conducive to digital slop, both because algorithms prize outlandish ragebait and because the tribalistic ideas themselves are low IQ rubbish.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Here’s my house, blah, blah, blah.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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If your manicure has been feeling a little blah recently, one of the best ways to elevate your look is with the best accent nail ideas.—
Ariana Yaptangco,
Glamour,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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People often confuse quirkiness with stupidity.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
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Why should Curtis have to back down to **maybe** save that city from its own stupidity?—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hokum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hokum. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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