Humbug — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

pretentious or silly talk or writing

communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/hˈʌmbʌɡ/

🇬🇧British English

/hˈaɪpəbˌɒlaɪz/

🇮🇳Indian English

/hˈaɪpəbˌɒlaɪz/

2 syllables Say it as /hˈʌmbʌɡ/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

twaddle taradiddle fraudulence boloney tommyrot hoax fraud bilgewater snake oil bosh put-on tarradiddle baloney dupery drool tosh

Parts of Speech

noun	pretentious or silly talk or writing
noun	communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive
noun	something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
verb	trick or deceive

Word Forms

twaddle	verb	speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
fraudulent	adjective	intended to deceive; ; ; - S.T.Coleridge
dupe	verb	fool or hoax
hoax	verb	subject to a playful hoax or joke
humbug	verb	trick or deceive
put on	verb	fool or hoax
humbug	noun	something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

fumisterie

discours ou écrit prétentieux ou idiots

🇪🇸Spanish

farsante

charlas o escritos pretenciosos o tontos

🇮🇹Italian

imbroglio

parlare o scrivere in modo pretenzioso o sciocco

🇵🇹Portuguese

farsa

conversa ou escrita pretensiosa ou boba

🇷🇺Russian

обман

претенциозные или глупые разговоры или письма

India

🇮🇳Hindi

पाखण्ड

दिखावटी या मूर्खतापूर्ण बात या लेखन

🇧🇩Bengali

হাম্বগ

দাম্ভিক বা নির্বোধ কথা বা লেখা

🇮🇳Tamil

ஹம்பக்

பாசாங்குத்தனமான அல்லது முட்டாள்தனமான பேச்சு அல்லது எழுத்து

🇮🇳Telugu

హంబగ్

ఆడంబరమైన లేదా వెర్రి మాటలు లేదా రాయడం

🇮🇳Marathi

हंबग

दिखाऊ किंवा मूर्ख बोलणे किंवा लेखन

🇮🇳Gujarati

હમ્બગ

દંભી અથવા મૂર્ખ વાતો અથવા લેખન

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹಂಬಗ್

ಆಡಂಬರದ ಅಥವಾ ಸಿಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತು ಅಥವಾ ಬರವಣಿಗೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഹംബഗ്

ധാർഷ്ട്യമോ മണ്ടത്തരമോ ആയ സംസാരം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ എഴുത്ത്

🇵🇰Urdu

ہمبگ

دکھاوا یا احمقانہ گفتگو یا تحریر

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

骗人的

自命不凡或愚蠢的谈话或写作

🇯🇵Japanese

ハムバグ

大げさなまたは愚かな話や書き込み

🇰🇷Korean

협잡

가식적이거나 어리석은 말이나 글

🇻🇳Vietnamese

trò bịp bợm

nói chuyện hoặc viết một cách kiêu ngạo hoặc ngớ ngẩn

🇹🇭Thai

อ่อนน้อมถ่อมตน

พูดหรือเขียนเก๊กหรือโง่

🇮🇩Indonesian

omong kosong

pembicaraan atau tulisan yang megah atau konyol

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

هراء

الحديث أو الكتابة الطنانة أو سخيفة

🇮🇷Persian

فروتن

صحبت یا نوشتن پرمدعا یا احمقانه

🇹🇷Turkish

riyakârlık

iddialı veya aptalca konuşma veya yazma

🇮🇱Hebrew

רַמַאִי

דיבורים או כתיבה יומרניים או מטופשים

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'humbug'?

The primary meaning of 'humbug' is 'pretentious or silly talk or writing'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'humbug' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'humbug' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'humbug' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'humbug' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'humbug' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'humbug' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'humbug' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'humbug' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'humbug' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'humbug' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted