rigmarole

[ rig-muh-rohl ]

/ ˈrɪg məˌroʊl /

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noun

an elaborate or complicated procedure: to go through the rigmarole of a formal dinner.

confused, incoherent, foolish, or meaningless talk.

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Also rig·a·ma·role

[rig-uh-muh-rohl] /ˈrɪg ə məˌroʊl/

Origin of rigmarole

First recorded in 1730–40; alteration of ragman roll

Words nearby rigmarole

rigidify, rigidize, rigid motion, Rigil Kent, Rigil Kentaurus, rigmarole, rigolet, Rigoletto, rigor, rigorism, rigor mortis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rigmarole in a sentence

That wrangling becomes necessary if a classroom tests positive, of course, but surveilling air filters instead of students could help schools get a course look at transmission without the rigmarole of testing lots of students.
How different COVID-19 testing plans can help keep kids safe in school|Jonathan Lambert|August 13, 2021|Science News
All that rigmarole from long ago broadcasts important lessons to our own time.
The election that foreshadowed 2020|James Morone|January 11, 2021|Washington Post
After all the rigmarole, they found what any pediatrician already knew: the MMR causes fever.
Another Blow to Anti-Vaxxers’ Fortress of Pseudoscience|Kent Sepkowitz|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, that rigmarole about the cardinal is all nonsense.
Castellinaria|Henry Festing Jones

But it came back to him afterward, and seemed to bear out the Countess's rigmarole.
The Second Latchkey|Charles Norris Williamson and Alice Muriel Williamson
I am sure that no one who has seen all this radical rigmarole, as I have had occasion to see it, can be deceived by it.
The Behavior of Crowds|Everett Dean Martin
It's a rigmarole because the boy is a Rigmarole and we've come to Rigmarole Town.
The Emerald City of Oz|L. Frank Baum
But now, what confused rigmarole are you bringing to my ears?
A Plucky Girl|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for rigmarole

rigmarole

rigamarole

/ (ˈrɪɡməˌrəʊl) /

noun

any long complicated procedure

a set of incoherent or pointless statements; garbled nonsense

Word Origin for rigmarole

C18: from earlier ragman roll a list, probably a roll used in a medieval game, wherein various characters were described in verse, beginning with Ragemon le bon Ragman the good

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

rigmarole

Origin of rigmarole

Words nearby rigmarole

Words related to rigmarole

How to use rigmarole in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rigmarole

rigamarole

Word Origin for rigmarole