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

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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 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 Last season’s nail-biting seven-game battle was famously known as the I-80 series because both teams opted for the approximately 90-minute (depending on traffic) bus ride rather than the rigmarole of a short flight. Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 16 Apr. 2024 The comments follow a year in which the initial fanfare surrounding the IRA has been tempered by the administrative rigmarole of trying to channel billions into the real economy. Natasha White, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2024 See All Example Sentences for rigmarole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rigmarole
Noun
  • As always, Yellowjackets is full of mind-bending detours, supernatural gobbledygook, and foliage-laden costumes.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025
  • Apologies to the Lois Lane stans out there, but Adams is mostly on hand in these movies to deliver stern gobbledygook (something about isotopes?) and stare at Henry Cavill’s cheekbones.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Opponents argue the laws sanction discrimination and the exclusion of a vulnerable minority group and that rhetoric produced in these debates can stigmatize the transgender community.
    Sam Gringlas, NPR, 10 May 2025
  • Nuclear Talks to Resume Despite heightened rhetoric, both Washington and Tehran have agreed to continue negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
    Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • Furtado, with a similar penchant for stretching out vowels and embracing gibberish, does the same with Elliott here, at times shrill but still compelling. 73.
    Steven J. Horowitz, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
  • But at the heart of it is an army of armchair scientists tapping into the unknown, shattering relaxation boundaries and spewing gibberish all in the hopes that someone out there will tingle.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Reality does not meet the hype, according to one expert.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 11 May 2025
  • Something doesn’t add up in terms of the hype and price….I’m struggling to come to any other conclusion than that his stock is greatly increased by being young and English and playing abroad.
    The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 10 May 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
  • On stage at the Parsons Theatre at Northglenn Arts, the actors help each other through song and dance, reinforcing the strength of the collective beyond any one lead.
    Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 29 Apr. 2025
  • There’s this great song and dance scene, and there’s that beautiful set that’s these uplit buildings that are super deco.
    Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 26 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rigmarole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigmarole. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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