pooh-pooh

[poo-poo]

See more synonyms for pooh-pooh on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to express disdain or contempt for; dismiss lightly: He pooh-poohed all their superstitious fears.

verb (used without object)

to express disdain or contempt.

Also poo-poo.

Origin of pooh-pooh

First recorded in 1820–30; v. use of reduplication of pooh¹

Related formspooh-pooh·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pooh-pooh

repudiate, belittle, disregard, discount, rebuff, reject

Examples from the Web for pooh-pooh

Contemporary Examples of pooh-pooh

When his fellow panelists pushed back, he proceeded to pooh-pooh all those “experts” who have said otherwise.
George Will, Fox News, and the Beginning of an Ebola Conspiracy
Russell Saunders
October 22, 2014
The pope may pooh-pooh the decision to remain childless, but the world needs more people who choose pets over kids.
Pope Francis Is Wrong About My Child-Free Life
Amanda Marcotte
June 6, 2014

Historical Examples of pooh-pooh

That was the sort of apparition that no guilty man would dare to pooh-pooh.
Tales Of Hearsay
Joseph Conrad
Here, for instance, I don't like the way you talk to me, the way you pooh-pooh my hospitality.
A Family of Noblemen
Mikhal Saltykov
Your wife will suggest calling in the doctor, but pooh-pooh him.
Princess Mary's Gift Book
Various
Lancaster, whenever he noticed her dejection, was inclined to pooh-pooh it.
The Plow-Woman
Eleanor Gates
They used to pooh-pooh the idea of the alchemists that gold had medicinal virtue.
L-bas
J. K. Huysmans

British Dictionary definitions for pooh-pooh

pooh-pooh

verb

(tr) to express disdain or scorn for; dismiss or belittle

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

Word Origin and History for pooh-pooh

"to dismiss lightly and contemptuously," 1827, a slang reduplication of dismissive expression pooh. Among the many 19th century theories of the origin of language was the Pooh-pooh theory (1860), which held that language grew from natural expressions of surprise, joy, pain, or grief.