as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
stories about the inn being haunted are just a lot of hooey
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Recent Examples of hooey
Cinderella Man is unalloyed emotional manipulation, and while the cast all dig into the maudlin hooey — Paul Giamatti is especially good as the crusty trainer — nothing here has the spark of real life.
—
Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
The old line about the 28 gauge having a square load is hooey.
—Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 11 Dec. 2019
Indeed, some devices are more powerful than others, and a few are just plain hooey.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
But as comforting as a toddy may be, the notion of a dose of booze as a cold cure has always struck me as a load of hooey.
—M. Carrie Allan, charlotteobserver, 23 Jan. 2018
The scene where Skerrett has a highland fling with a blond, bearded hunk is more than a wee bit full of hooey.
—David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Jan. 2018
There was a whole lot of narrative hooey to explain the theme, which mostly had to do with caterpillars becoming butterflies, girls becoming women, et cetera.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2017
Contrary to the previous load of hooey dispensed by Junior and the first family, this dude was not a translator.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 18 July 2017
And that 38 percent believes accusations that Trump's campaign conspired with Russian hackers and spies to influence the election's outcome -- and the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the election -- are nothing but hooey.
—Douglas Perry, OregonLive.com, 15 June 2017
Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
The old line about the 28 gauge having a square load is hooey.
—Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 11 Dec. 2019
Indeed, some devices are more powerful than others, and a few are just plain hooey.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
But as comforting as a toddy may be, the notion of a dose of booze as a cold cure has always struck me as a load of hooey.
—M. Carrie Allan, charlotteobserver, 23 Jan. 2018
The scene where Skerrett has a highland fling with a blond, bearded hunk is more than a wee bit full of hooey.
—David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Jan. 2018
There was a whole lot of narrative hooey to explain the theme, which mostly had to do with caterpillars becoming butterflies, girls becoming women, et cetera.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2017
Contrary to the previous load of hooey dispensed by Junior and the first family, this dude was not a translator.
—Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 18 July 2017
And that 38 percent believes accusations that Trump's campaign conspired with Russian hackers and spies to influence the election's outcome -- and the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the election -- are nothing but hooey.
—Douglas Perry, OregonLive.com, 15 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooey
Noun
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But the jumble of words coming out of Harper’s mouth is nonsense.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Aside from how much human assistance the AIs had, the vast bulk of the submissions appear to be a lot of very convincing nonsense.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Fresh fruit and maple syrup add natural sweetness, while a small amount of nuts or seeds provides crunch and satiety without the sugar overload.—
Kathleen Ferraro,
Verywell Health,
15 Feb. 2026
-
But just as there’s a difference between depicting chaos and depicting chaotically, there’s a difference between presenting theatergoers with a realistic image of mental illness and driving an audience nuts.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The study also noted that many of these companies guaranteed some news outlets would cover the press releases, and were essentially flooding the space with garbage crypto information dressed up to look like reliable news.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
If certain items can't be put in your regular garbage and recycling bins, do the right thing and run it to your local garbage disposal center instead.—
Kate McKenna,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
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
-
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
-
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
-
There is plenty of silliness in this year’s commercials.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The silliness betrays the seriousness.—
J. Aaron Sanders,
STAT,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The large dormitory room smelled of babies' breath and pillow drool.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
15 Feb. 2026
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In one image—a favorite of mine—a man lies on an expanse of sand, cradling a smiling child, whose drool is pooling on the man’s shirtless chest.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
20 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Which is much worse than plain old stupidity.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.—
Jonny Thomson,
Big Think,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hooey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooey. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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