Synonyms

hooey

American

[hoo-ee] / ˈhu i /

interjection

(used to express disapproval or disbelief ).

Hooey! You know that's not true.

noun

silly or worthless talk, writing, ideas, etc.; nonsense; bunk.

That's a lot of hooey and you know it!

hooey British

/ ˈhuːɪ /

noun

slang nonsense; rubbish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hooey

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; origin uncertain

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.

See Examples For:

hooey

Stuart Reges, who taught computer science at the school since 2004, thought this was hooey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025

This is, and it cannot be stressed enough, total hooey.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2022

And this Supreme Court says that’s a bunch of hooey.

From Slate ● Jun. 28, 2022

When the junction boxes are infected with a virus, the electrical grid goes hooey, sowing chaos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2021

Its buffoonish hooey and end-of-the-pier music may have amused its creative team and some critics, but with the benefit of hindsight its timing seems tasteless and incomprehensible.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023