humbug
Americannoun
-
humbugs
plural
-
something intended to delude or deceive.
- Synonyms:
- imposition
-
the quality of falseness or deception.
-
a person who is not what they claim or pretend to be; impostor.
-
something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense.
a humbug of technical jargon.
-
British. a variety of hard mint candy.
verb (used with object)
-
humbugs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
humbugged,
past participle, past
-
humbugging
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
humbugs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
humbugged,
past participle, past
-
humbugging
present participle
interjection
noun
-
a person or thing that tricks or deceives
-
nonsense; rubbish
-
a hard boiled sweet, usually flavoured with peppermint and often having a striped pattern
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
humbugsimple
-
humbugssimple
-
have humbuggedperfect
-
has humbuggedperfect
-
am humbuggingprogressive
-
are humbuggingprogressive
-
is humbuggingprogressive
-
have been humbuggingperfect progressive
-
has been humbuggingperfect progressive
Past
-
humbuggedsimple
-
had humbuggedperfect
-
was humbuggingprogressive
-
were humbuggingprogressive
-
had been humbuggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of humbug
First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain
Explanation
Humbug is language that's either deceptive or just ridiculous. Either way, it's verbal garbage and inspires people to mutter "Bah! Humbug!" — just like Scrooge did in A Christmas Carol. Humbug is one of many words in English for language that can't be trusted. Humbug is like snake oil: it's deceptive, tricky, and meant to put one over on you. There's a slightly different type of humbug that refers to nonsense: speech or writing that's silly, pretentious, or just empty. When someone is talking a lot but saying nothing, they're talking humbug.
Vocabulary lists containing humbug
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell
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The Time Machine
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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:
Spoto’s work is not fully dismissed, but he’s often thought of as something of an academic humbug.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Kielty said he'll be spending three hours there, using a combination of cosmetics and prosthetic moulds to transform into the infamous green humbug.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
As usual, they’re backing their promise with lies and other humbug.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2024
If holiday clutter has you more bah humbug than merry, these tips from professional organizers around Seattle might make your life easier before and after the holidays, and well into the new year.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
Yet there are doctors who think that Phineas is a humbug, a fake from the back woods of Vermont.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
“He used these humbugs, as he called them, to create excitement and bring people in,” Wilson says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Joined by his wife Katie, he plunges into another assignment, as he tries to get the "spirit of Christmas" back from the dastardly humbugs.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2024
In Poe’s lifetime, a handful of well-connected American scientists advanced plans to build national institutions to distinguish “real working men in the way of science” from charlatans, quacks, and humbugs.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2021
Chronicling the history of such fakers as Smelcer, Young offers a long history of the hoax, beginning with a series of famous humbugs from P. T. Barnum’s sideshow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2017
Leah ultimately found one explanation that covered almost any difficult séance situation—the spirit world contained humbugs just like the mortal one— some spirits liked to play tricks; others simply lied.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
“Because,” he added, “Although I ain’t been in the city long, I ain’t to be humbugged; it won’t do for you to try to put off your confounded mock turtles on me!”
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2018
The sooner America knows we are not going to be humbugged the better it is.
From Time Magazine Archive
P. T. Barnum recorded the fact that the American people delight in being humbugged, and such is still the national mood.
From Time Magazine Archive
This means simply that Mr. Greenhow and all other admirers of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s manner of treating Indians have been humbugged by their professions of “humanity and policy.”
From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray
I've been humbugged enough over this precious title.
From A Poached Peerage by William Magnay
Stranded in his "useless position" at Transport, Reith seethed while Churchill put together his "rotten" wartime coalition full of "humbugging and sycophantic" ministers.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Look here,” he added, calling the detective on one side, “that fellow is an infernal scoundrel, and are you sure he is not humbugging us?”
From Luck at the Diamond Fields by Dalrymple J. Belgrave
Indeed, we made two several attempts at knocking the island out of the water, each sufficiently distinct to have made any ordinary sailorman in his sane senses get snugly to sea without further humbugging.
From The Recipe for Diamonds by Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne
“Oh, I was only humbugging, Haviland,” returned Jarnley, not in the least eager to make good his words.
From Haviland's Chum by Bertram Mitford
“One-fifty a month, and we can have a straight lease—no humbugging about clauses.”
From Polly in New York by Lillian Elizabeth Roy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
