variants also rigamarole
Definition of rigmarolenext
as in gobbledygook
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions the security guard gave me some kind of rigmarole about passes and authorizations

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rigmarole So there are all those questions and rigmarole. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025 No rigamarole or bureaucracy to navigate. Andy Meek, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025 The bust was followed by months of prolonged legal rigmarole. John Semley, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2025 Editors’ Picks Our Favorite Bathrooms Kermit has been through the graduation rigmarole before. Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rigmarole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rigmarole
Noun
  • Meaningless gobbledygook to an outsider, yet powerful to those who know how to wield those sounds properly.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Bob Kring DeBary Congressional bill is full of greed The Great Big Beautiful Bill reads like 950 pages of of gobbledygook distilled into four words: Greedy, stingy, mean and short-sighted.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • That kind of rhetoric is escalatory.
    Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Regardless, the Islamic Republic’s response has been to frame criticism as betrayal, suggesting that those who question support for Gaza or Lebanon are complicit with imperialism – a narrative enforced through a mix of rhetoric and coercion.
    Kamran Talattof, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Vril and Agartha have thrived in part because of the way the editors mix brainrot and bigotry, disguising their ideological assaults in the fried fog of GifTok rap gibberish.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The strategy always involves the same ingredients: The message, called the plaintext, gets distorted (the encryption) so that anybody who intercepts it sees only garbled gibberish (the ciphertext).
    Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Against the Horned Frogs, Peat matched the hype, leading the Wildcats with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The fuzzy shearling interior and buttery soft suede outer is worth all the hype, and the chestnut hue goes with legit everything.
    Annie Blackman, InStyle, 10 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.
    Barak Ravid, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
  • The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.
    Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
  • The film depicts her establishment of the utopian society while the Shakers worship with song and dance.
    Giana Levy, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
  • This aptitude for song and dance, combined with some friend-of-a-friend magic, was enough to get Taylor an audience with two people who would change her life.
    Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rigmarole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigmarole. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.

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