variants also rigamarole
as in gobbledegook
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions the security guard gave me some kind of rigmarole about passes and authorizations

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rigmarole Of course, there’s a lot more rigmarole involved when selling on the secondary market, including sellers’ fees, but that gap between the valuations is wide. Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025 But not as weird as the rigmarole of the music industry. Justin Curto, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025 Is there a company that prides itself on an absence of rigmarole? Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 July 2024 Last season’s nail-biting seven-game battle was famously known as the I-80 series because both teams opted for the approximately 90-minute (depending on traffic) bus ride rather than the rigmarole of a short flight. Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 16 Apr. 2024 See All Example Sentences for rigmarole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rigmarole
Noun
  • Bob Kring DeBary Congressional bill is full of greed The Great Big Beautiful Bill reads like 950 pages of of gobbledygook distilled into four words: Greedy, stingy, mean and short-sighted.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 July 2025
  • The six-episode limited series feels like a long movie broken into arbitrary episodes, its ending is mired by digital gobbledygook, and Marvel still doesn’t know how magic makes sense in a universe ruled by advanced technology and literal gods.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 24 June 2025
Noun
  • His tirades against Ukraine stood out for their bloodthirsty rhetoric.
    Simon Shuster, Time, 17 July 2025
  • Real patriots pay no heed to such undemocratic, childish rhetoric.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 July 2025
Noun
  • Today's teen slang might seem like complete gibberish, but you may be surprised by how many terms echo phrases from the past.
    Annabelle Canela, Parents, 3 June 2025
  • Teachers have banned it from the classroom after kids disrupted lessons by reciting its signature gibberish, Parents reports.
    Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • But smart leaders know when to skip the hype and when to double down on what can scale, build lasting audience trust and unlock new lanes for growth and relevance.
    Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2025
  • This year's lineup should only keep the hype alive.
    Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Noun
  • Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.
    Barak Ravid, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
  • The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.
    Rich Lowry, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
  • In early colonial times, churches had strict guidelines on music, song and dance.
    Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2025
  • It’s got the big song and dance numbers, it’s got fun characters, it’s got magic tricks.
    David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rigmarole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rigmarole. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

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