variants
also pooh
as in to dismiss
informal
to think or say that (something) is not very good or not true
They pooh-poohed my suggestion. He pooh-poohed the idea that the house was haunted.
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Recent Examples of pooh-pooh
One could be forgiven to pooh-pooh yet another play that lays out William Shakespeare’s bona fides as a hip-hop icon, the original bar spitter who beefed with plenty of his contemporaries while dropping sick flows all over Elizabethan England.
—
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026
In Cleveland, see Jimmy Haslam scare off quality candidates and then pooh-pooh fresh faces brave enough to want to work for him.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
LaRoche tried to pooh-pooh the notion, and certainly did not wish Agent McGee to alarm his wife.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 14 Apr. 2025
But weather forecasters typically pooh-pooh their predictions.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
National Weather Service debunks woolly bear forecasting abilities Of course, the National Weather Service has come along to pooh-pooh the woolly bear's winter foresight, with its science and facts.
—Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 31 Oct. 2024
No wonder his officers pooh-pooh Haiti’s gangs as amateurs compared to their previous foes, like Al Shabaab – though the al Qaeda affiliate hasn’t been entirely vanquished back home in Kenya.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026
In Cleveland, see Jimmy Haslam scare off quality candidates and then pooh-pooh fresh faces brave enough to want to work for him.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
LaRoche tried to pooh-pooh the notion, and certainly did not wish Agent McGee to alarm his wife.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 14 Apr. 2025
But weather forecasters typically pooh-pooh their predictions.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
National Weather Service debunks woolly bear forecasting abilities Of course, the National Weather Service has come along to pooh-pooh the woolly bear's winter foresight, with its science and facts.
—Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 31 Oct. 2024
No wonder his officers pooh-pooh Haiti’s gangs as amateurs compared to their previous foes, like Al Shabaab – though the al Qaeda affiliate hasn’t been entirely vanquished back home in Kenya.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pooh-pooh
Verb
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In its Thursday decision dismissing the case, the military's top legal officers said the charges against the soldiers were being dropped because the video did not show abuse violent enough to merit a criminal conviction and had been improperly leaked to the media.—
JULIA FRANKEL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
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Room for Disagreement Azizi has dismissed concerns that his close relationships with regional leaders could pave the way for government interference.—
Vivianne Wandera,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, the executives from several of the vendors that built out the state’s four-region 911 system encouraged the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management to reject Cal OES’ decision to transition to the statewide design.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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Easier, maybe, to imagine Blume rejecting the general proposition of an author biography, which seeks to root a subject’s work in their specific experiences, dislodging them from a supposedly neutral or unmarked position.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Red, white and blue and Venezuela’s yellow, blue and red filled the stadium -- as did the political overtones the WBC could not ignore.—
Greg Cote
Updated March 17,
Miami Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
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But when platitudes aren’t backed by action, the disparity between branding and behavior becomes impossible to ignore.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-pooh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-pooh. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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