malarkey

American

[muh-lahr-kee] / məˈlɑr ki /

Or malarky

noun

Informal.

speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress; bunkum.

The claims were just a lot of malarkey.

malarkey British

/ məˈlɑːkɪ /

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 malarkey

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; 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.

“I have two heroes: Bobby Kennedy. … And no malarkey, Dr. King,” Biden told the congregation.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2023

White hair atop his head and lasers shooting from his eyes, he radiates menace and abhors malarkey.

From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2022

If only there was, like, an essential guide to how this World Cup draw malarkey works.

From The Guardian • Apr. 1, 2022

Before we discuss anything else, can I congratulate you on getting the word malarkey into a song?

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2021

And Hughie says it’s all a bunch of malarkey.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

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