hokum
Americannoun
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out-and-out nonsense; bunkum.
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elements of low comedy introduced into a play, novel, etc., for the laughs they may bring.
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sentimental matter of an elementary or stereotyped kind introduced into a play or the like.
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false or irrelevant material introduced into a speech, essay, etc., in order to arouse interest, excitement, or amusement.
noun
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claptrap; bunk
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obvious or hackneyed material of a sentimental nature in a play, film, etc
Etymology
Origin of hokum
1915–20, probably blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It abandoned the hokum that convinced educators that they could teach kids to read through pictures and context clues rather than decoding words.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026
"That is hokum," Matz told the appeals court.
From Reuters • Oct. 23, 2023
Today, Arnold’s vision of culture as “sweetness and light” is often mocked as elitist hokum.
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023
But despite this incisive dramatic perspective, Diallo is determined to make a horror film, and soon these well observed moments are engulfed in a deluge of supernatural hokum that paradoxically makes “Master” much more mundane.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2022
And even though I knew the ins and outs of such hokum, I was still impressed.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
