How to Use humbug in a Sentence

humbug

noun
  • An ephemeral wind of nothing that blows away like humbug.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026
  • His bah-humbug to Halloween was in keeping with that tough line.
    — Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 17 Oct. 2020
  • Like every state, Colorado has its folklore, hoaxes, tall tales and humbugs.
    — Tom Noel, The Know, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Inside the nondescript red-brick office building, black and white offices are stacked like humbugs.
    — Alexander Fury, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2016
  • San Diego theaters have lined up a bounty of seasonal stage shows designed to delight even the biggest humbugs.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Nov. 2025
  • As the story goes, he is visited by a trio of Christmas ghosts (whom Scrooge accuses of being humbugs).
    — Elizabeth Wolfe and Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019
  • Merriam-Webster defines a humbug as something or someone that is false or deceptive.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe and Douglas S. Wood, CNN, 21 Dec. 2019
  • Despite the precedents, few were amused by the Herald’s brazen exercise in journalistic humbug.
    — Robert Mitchell, Washington Post, 13 June 2017
  • Deception, however, permeated the culture, whether in the form of hoaxes, humbugs or confidence men.
    — Louis P. Masur, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Nov. 2017
  • Like many American holidays, it is now encrusted with humbug and commercialism.
    — Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 5 May 2020
  • Lying in this crypt is Nathan Lane’s Willy Loman, a tragic humbug, his delusions contradicted by the ruins around him.
    — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The 1892 Russian ballet is bah-humbug for some viewers, even with Tchaikovsky’s luscious and romantic music.
    — Laura Bleiberg, latimes.com, 11 Dec. 2017
  • Heroic detective, pilot, poet, magician and victor over all bullies and humbugs, animal or human, Freddy remains a model to us all.
    — New York Times, 12 Mar. 2020
  • If formal festivities aren’t your style and the thought of hosting yet another cocktail party leaves you cold, consider getting the gang together for seasonal shenanigans designed to kick bah-humbug to the curb.
    — Bonnie McCarthy, latimes.com, 3 Nov. 2017
  • Women found the words giggle, beast, circus, grand, juju, humbug, slicker, sweat, ennui, holder, momma and sod funny while people under 32 were partial to goatee, joint and gangster.
    — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 3 Aug. 2017
  • No Star Wars has ever made a better case for the Force than this film, which finally mends the damage done by the midi-chlorian humbug introduced in the disastrous prequel films.
    — Justin L. MacK, Indianapolis Star, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Luckily for those feeling bah-humbug about the inclement cold weather down South, rain should stop by Thursday night as temperatures start climbing to the 60s in Texas by Saturday, forecasters say.
    — Courtney Campbell, Country Living, 6 Dec. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'humbug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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