Synonyms for Bullshit: 30 Better Ways to Call Out Nonsense

Your friend swears he ran a marathon in under two hours. You roll your eyes. You know it isn’t true, but you don’t want to sound rude.

That’s where synonyms for bullshit come in. Bullshit means talk that is false, silly, or meant to fool you. It can be a big lie or just empty chatter.

Knowing another word for bullshit helps a lot. Students can write cleaner essays. Bloggers and content writers can stop repeating themselves. English learners can sound more natural. Everyday speakers can pick the right tone for the moment.

This guide to synonyms for bullshit gives you 30 alternatives, from polite ones like nonsense to playful ones like malarkey. Each comes with a simple meaning and two examples.

Nonsense

Meaning: Words or ideas that make no sense or have no truth in them.

Type: Near synonym. It’s the safest pick when you need synonyms for bullshit at work or school.

Examples:

• The rumor about free pizza every Friday is complete nonsense.
• Stop talking nonsense and tell me what really happened.

Baloney

Meaning: A casual word for something that is silly, false, or exaggerated.

Examples:

• He said he knew the mayor, but that’s baloney.
• I don’t buy the baloney in that ad about instant weight loss.

Malarkey

Meaning: A playful word for foolish or misleading talk.

Examples:

• My uncle told me some malarkey about seeing a bear in the parking lot.
• Don’t give me that malarkey about the dog eating your homework.

Hogwash

Meaning: Talk that is clearly wrong or ridiculous.

Examples:

• The idea that cracking your knuckles ruins your hands is hogwash.
• She called the sales pitch pure hogwash and walked away.

Poppycock

Meaning: An old fashioned word for silly, empty talk.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• My grandfather called every conspiracy theory poppycock.
• That review is poppycock, and the product works fine.

Balderdash

Meaning: Foolish talk that is not worth taking seriously.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• The coach dismissed the trade rumor as balderdash.
• “Balderdash!” she said when he claimed the car was brand new.

Rubbish

Meaning: Something that is worthless, untrue, or of very poor quality.

Type: Near synonym. It’s common in British English.

Examples:

• Most of the advice in that forum thread is rubbish.
• I read his essay, and the argument was rubbish.

Garbage

Meaning: Ideas or information that are useless or false.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• The data in that report was garbage, so we redid the survey.
• Don’t fill your head with garbage from social media.

Claptrap

Meaning: Showy, empty talk meant to impress people.

Examples:

• The speech was full of claptrap about “changing the world.”
• I stopped reading the brochure after the third page of claptrap.

Gibberish

Meaning: Speech or writing that is impossible to understand.

Type: Near synonym. It fits when the words truly make no sense.

Examples:

• The email was so full of typos it read like gibberish.
• The baby babbled gibberish all through dinner.

Drivel

Meaning: Silly talk that goes on for too long.

Examples:

• I sat through an hour of drivel at the staff meeting.
• Please don’t waste my time with this drivel.

Hooey

Meaning: An informal word for nonsense or false claims.

Examples:

• The salesman’s story about a “secret discount” was hooey.
• Her teacher called the myth pure hooey.

Tosh

Meaning: A mild, British word for foolish talk.

Examples:

• “Oh, tosh,” said my aunt when I told her the ghost story.
• He wrote a whole blog post of tosh about the moon landing.

Twaddle

Meaning: Silly, meaningless talk or writing.

Examples:

• I skimmed the newsletter and found only twaddle.
• Her speech was twaddled from start to finish.

Bunk

Meaning: A short, informal word for false or empty claims.

Examples:

• The claim that you only use ten percent of your brain is bunk.
• I think that diet plan is a load of bunk.

Hokum

Meaning: Fake or overdone material that tries to seem real.

Examples:

• The psychic’s predictions were nothing but hokum.
• The movie’s science was pure hokum, but it was fun.

Humbug

Meaning: Fake or dishonest talk meant to deceive.

Examples:

• Scrooge dismissed the holiday cheer as humbug.
• The miracle cure turned out to be humbug.

Codswallop

Meaning: A funny British word for total nonsense.

Examples:

• He told us some codswallop about winning a chess match against a robot.
• That headline is codswallop, so don’t share it.

Flimflam

Meaning: Deceptive talk used to trick people.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• The online seller’s flimflam cost me twenty dollars.
• Watch out for flimflam in emails that promise quick money.

Eyewash

Meaning: Talk or actions meant to make something look better than it is.

Type: Context specific alternative

Examples:

• The company’s green pledge was just eyewash.
• The manager’s promise of “big changes” was eyewash.

Bunkum

Meaning: Empty talk, especially from someone trying to win support.

Type: Near synonym. It’s closely related to bunk.

Examples:

• The candidate’s promise of free rent sounded like bunkum.
• I ignored the bunkum and checked the facts myself.

Tripe

Meaning: Worthless writing, ideas, or speech.

Examples:

• I turned off the show because it was such a tripe.
• He posts tripe online and calls it news.

Trash

Meaning: A blunt word for something false or of no value.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• Everything in that chain message is trash.
• Don’t believe the trash people write in comment sections.

Applesauce

Meaning: A quirky, old fashioned word for nonsense.

Type: Context specific alternative

Examples:

• “Applesauce!” said my grandma when the ad claimed the pills were free.
• That excuse is applesauce, and you know it.

Hot air

Meaning: Loud or boastful talk with no real substance behind it.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• The mayor’s plan sounded like nothing but hot air.
• All that talk about launching a startup was hot air.

Spin

Meaning: Twisted or misleading wording used to make something look better than it is.

Type: Context specific alternative. It’s common in news and politics.

Examples:

• The company put a positive spin on the bad sales numbers.
• I can hear the spin in his apology.

Fluff

Meaning: Filler content that adds length but no real value.

Type: Context specific alternative. It’s popular in writing and blogging.

Examples:

• The first three paragraphs of the article were just fluff.
• Cut the fluff from your résumé and keep the facts.

Fabrication

Meaning: A made up story or claim presented as true.

Type: Context specific alternative. It fits best when someone is deliberately lying.

Examples:

• The reporter was fired for inventing a fabrication about a local hero.
• Her whole story about the missing keys was a fabrication.

Jive

Meaning: A casual word for misleading or insincere talk.

Type: Context specific alternative

Examples:

• Don’t hand me that jive about being stuck in traffic.
• The song is great, but the ad copy is all jive.

Crock

Meaning: A blunt, informal word for something false or silly.

Type: Near synonym

Examples:

• His excuse for missing the deadline was a crock.
• I think that whole theory is a crock.

Conclusion

Good writers keep a full toolbox of words. When you know more than one way to say something, your writing gets sharper and your speech gets more colorful. These synonyms for bullshit let you match your tone to the moment, whether you’re writing an email, an essay, or a blog post. Try a few this week. Drop one into a text or a school paper and see how it feels. Small vocabulary wins add up fast.