variants
or buncombe
as in nonsense
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
a cinematic depiction of the Middle Ages that was derided as pure bunkum by historians
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Recent Examples of bunkum
Putting aside the junk peddling, how much of Madoff’s and Trump’s bunkum do they themselves (for Madoff, did) believe to be true?
—
Richard Behar, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
As generative AI is integrated into common search engines and voters converse with chatbots, people seeking basic information about elections have at times been met with misinformation, pure bunkum, or links to fringe websites.
—Mekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
Nevertheless, anti-vaccine bunkum has clearly metastasized to our furry companions.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2023
And in the ultimate exemplification of how an endless stream of content begets pernicious bunkum, John McPhail’s Dear David is arguably the most brainless release of the year.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 5 Dec. 2023
Brightly lit and filled to their Botox gills with aspirational bunkum, the shows require little by way of mental engagement.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2023
Behind the image was a fair bit of bunkum.
—James Gleick, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021
The Telegraph's article immediately drew sharp responses from other journalists, who dismissed the report as bunkum.
—Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 15 Mar. 2010
Unfortunately, but somewhat predictably, the press has fallen for Bukele’s bunkum hook, line, and sinker.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 18 Sep. 2021
Richard Behar, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
As generative AI is integrated into common search engines and voters converse with chatbots, people seeking basic information about elections have at times been met with misinformation, pure bunkum, or links to fringe websites.
—Mekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
Nevertheless, anti-vaccine bunkum has clearly metastasized to our furry companions.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 30 Aug. 2023
And in the ultimate exemplification of how an endless stream of content begets pernicious bunkum, John McPhail’s Dear David is arguably the most brainless release of the year.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 5 Dec. 2023
Brightly lit and filled to their Botox gills with aspirational bunkum, the shows require little by way of mental engagement.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2023
Behind the image was a fair bit of bunkum.
—James Gleick, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021
The Telegraph's article immediately drew sharp responses from other journalists, who dismissed the report as bunkum.
—Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 15 Mar. 2010
Unfortunately, but somewhat predictably, the press has fallen for Bukele’s bunkum hook, line, and sinker.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 18 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bunkum
Noun
-
Just ask anyone who's watched an AI confidently spit out nonsense—or worse.—
Bob Ras,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
-
While Drop, clocking in at an economical 93 minutes, may sound like fun and games, there’s something deeper and more human at its core than mindless nonsense.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Unlike a regular old garbage bag, these are leakproof and durable (and thus much harder for a squirrel to rip into, if given the chance).—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Four 20-pound bags of hamburger buns and sandwich breads got hit with Stop Sales, sending 80 pounds of bread into the garbage.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Kennedy has elevated threats to the livelihoods of scientists who have resisted his brand of balderdash from the implicit to the explicit.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Nov. 2024
-
While schools do exist in rough tiers of selectivity, size, excellence, prestige and so forth, the idea of precise rankings is balderdash.—
David M. Perry,
CNN,
14 Sep. 2022
Noun
-
Trump himself personifies stupidity’s essential feature — self-satisfaction, an inability to recognize the flaws in your thinking.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2025
-
These deaths come on the heels of the equally bizarre and jarring death of Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) which brings us to four adult survivors dead, though Adult Travis died offscreen (sparking a really fascinating mystery that ended in sheer stupidity and disappointment).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
From the foothills of the Berkshires arises a venerable strain of American madness, the poetry of hokum—the old weird America of medicine shows and travelling circuses and carnivals.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Ultimately, what saves the movie is the cast and crew’s expert devotion to its polished, well-meaning hokum.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The other camp says hogwash and would argue that the DDE is sorely lacking, amounts to an oversimplification, and has little to offer.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
-
These are typically hogwash for multiple reasons, not least of which is the combination of ideological bias with the pretense of ideological neutrality.—
Dan McLaughlin,
National Review,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Third, despite Trump’s claptrap, plenty of fresh delta water is being pumped south to fill fire hydrants and the tanks of firefighting aircraft.—
George Skelton,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2025
-
Many Red Sox fans have had it up to here with that building-for-the-future claptrap, so much so that expectations were scary low coming into the 2024 season.—
Steve Buckley,
The Athletic,
31 July 2024
Noun
-
Buckingham Palace simply couldn’t abide someone in its circle saying poppycock.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2023
-
This is, as Raymond Reddington might say, utter poppycock.—
Tanya Melendez,
EW.com,
3 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Bunkum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bunkum. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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