out of whole cloth

idiom

US, informal

: in order to trick someone into believing what is not true

He would make up stories out of whole cloth just to stir up trouble.

Examples of out of whole cloth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Since crashing the scene late last year, AI chatbots such as ChatGPT have proven themselves capable of crafting college admissions essays, producing viral images out of whole cloth, and spooking everyone from curious journalists to Silicon Valley tech execs. —

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2023 Some of the Conjuring universe movies are entirely made up out of whole cloth but this one is inspired by a real incident, a real court case. —

Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 June 2021 Creating jobs out of whole cloth was one of her specialties. —

Longreads, 18 May 2021 Perry Mason, the first season of which is clearly modeled after a superhero origin story, invents an elaborate backstory out of whole cloth for the character, and grounds it, naturally, in trauma. —

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 25 June 2020 See all Example Sentences for out of whole cloth

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“Out of whole cloth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/out%20of%20whole%20cloth. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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