bunkum

noun

bun·kum ˈbəŋ-kəm

variants or buncombe

Synonyms of bunkum next

: insincere or foolish talk : nonsense

Did you know?

Some words in the English language have more colorful histories than others. In the case of bunkum, you could almost say it was an act of Congress that brought the word into being. Back in 1820, Felix Walker, who represented North Carolina's Buncombe County in the U.S. House of Representatives, was determined that his voice be heard on his constituents' behalf, even though the matter up for debate was irrelevant to Walker's district and he had little of substance to contribute. To the exasperation of his colleagues, Walker insisted on delivering a long and wearisome "speech for Buncombe." His persistent—if insignificant—harangue made buncombe (later respelled bunkum) a synonym for meaningless political claptrap and came later to refer to any kind of nonsense.

Examples of bunkum in a Sentence

What a load of bunkum! a cinematic depiction of the Middle Ages that was derided as pure bunkum by historians

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

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

Word History

Etymology

Buncombe county, North Carolina; from a remark made by its congressman, who defended an irrelevant speech by claiming that he was speaking to Buncombe

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bunkum was in 1838

See more words from the same year