variants
also rigamarole
as in gobbledegook
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions
the security guard gave me some kind of rigmarole about passes and authorizations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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
But not as weird as the rigmarole of the music industry.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Is there a company that prides itself on an absence of rigmarole?
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for 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
But not as weird as the rigmarole of the music industry.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Is there a company that prides itself on an absence of rigmarole?
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for rigmarole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rigmarole
Noun
-
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
-
The six-episode limited series feels like a long movie broken into arbitrary episodes, its ending is mired by digital gobbledygook, and Marvel still doesn’t know how magic makes sense in a universe ruled by advanced technology and literal gods.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
But Herrero, of the Cuba Study Group, argued that this kind of rhetoric is better understood as electoral gamesmanship.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Watson and Radcliffe have consistently voiced support for transgender rights, sometimes in direct contrast to Rowling reiterating hurtful rhetoric that is tied to the TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) movement, which posits the belief that trans women are not women.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
My last thought, here, beware of the endless gibberish about the hazards of rotations.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Her toddler, who was almost two, leaned over the railing and called out to the agents in baby gibberish, but the agents did not acknowledge her.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
Noun
-
Unlike earlier tech booms, this surge is not about speculation and hype, but structural reinvention.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The actress and comedian was part of the event’s hype team before the players tee off.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
28 Sep. 2025
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 song and dance competition will feature three competitors — Sapphire Martini, Bloody Mary and April Spritz.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
18 Sep. 2025
-
And the bizarre song and dance numbers, for all their anachronism, pull us in further.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rigmarole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigmarole. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share