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
  • While some may view these new statements as a step toward accountability, others remain skeptical, citing the depth and repeated nature of his past rhetoric.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 22 May 2025
  • In her public rhetoric, mostly on social media and right-wing media appearances, Lake has veered between promising to restore the networks to their historic mission and pledging to demolish them.
    David Folkenflik, NPR, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • In 2023, Voyager 1 started sending gibberish from deep space, but that issue was resolved last year.
    Scott Neuman, NPR, 20 May 2025
  • Next to Margaret, one of the two angels holds a book of song, once thought to be a hymn by the English composer Walter Frye but now identified as musical gibberish.
    Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025
Noun
  • Sustainability Over Hype As the BAL expands and African basketball continues to gain global traction, many clubs will be tempted by shortcuts, quick signings, foreign rosters, and short-term hype.
    Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
  • These investors have collectively spent $400 million on the coin, a type of cryptocurrency that depends on hype to increase its value.
    Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 22 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
  • Just in time for the real-life Eurovision Song Contest, the TARDIS takes a detour to the 2925 version of the annual song and dance jamboree.
    Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 May 2025
  • Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and more beloved characters will line the streets with song and dance.
    Angel Saunders, People.com, 17 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rigmarole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigmarole. Accessed 30 May. 2025.

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