hogwash

noun

hog·​wash ˈhȯg-ˌwȯsh 

-ˌwäsh,

ˈhäg-

1

: swill sense 2a, slop

2

: nonsense, balderdash

Synonyms

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Examples of hogwash in a Sentence

You wouldn't believe the hogwash he was spouting at us.

the librarian told us a lot of hogwash about how you can go to jail for having overdue books

Recent Examples on the Web

That said, there is one thing economists are unanimous about: The Biden/Harris explanation of inflation is hogwash. —John C. Goodman, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

The Reynolds administration has been something of a one-stop shop for this kind hogwash that’s blind to the consequences of loosening child labor laws. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2023

And any mention of the actor and composer as porcines of interest would be pure hogwash. —Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 11 June 2023

Bluntly, this is hogwash. —Tim Reynolds, ajc, 7 May 2022

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hogwash

noun

hog·​wash ˈhȯg-ˌwȯsh 

ˈhäg-,

-ˌwäsh

1

: swill entry 2 sense 1

2

: nonsense sense 1