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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The firms asked the judge to dismiss the case Wednesday, arguing Uber had failed to prove fraud.
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Delta denied this in its legal response, seeking to dismiss the case.
Verb
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Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez rejected those motions.
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Goldman has drawn criticism for refusing to reject support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
Verb
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Price is where almost every search starts, and the difference between countries is hard to ignore.
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By the time the sponsor wants to sell, the buyer sees what the sponsor ignored.
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-pooh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-pooh. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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