mumbo jumbo

mum·bo jum·bo

M m

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [muhm-boh juhm-boh]
- /ˈmʌm boʊ ˈdʒʌm boʊ/
- /ˈməm.bəʊ ˈdʒʌm.bəʊ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [muhm-boh juhm-boh]
- /ˈmʌm boʊ ˈdʒʌm boʊ/

Definitions of mumbo jumbo words

noun plural mumbo jumbo meaningless incantation or ritual. 1
noun plural mumbo jumbo senseless or pretentious language, usually designed to obscure an issue, confuse a listener, or the like. 1
noun plural mumbo jumbo an object of superstitious awe or reverence. 1
noun plural mumbo jumbo (initial capital letters) the guardian of western Sudan villages symbolized by a masked man who combats evil and punishes women for breaches of tribal laws. 1
noun mumbo jumbo nonsense talk 1
noun mumbo jumbo jargon 1

See all 15 definitions of mumbo jumbo

Information block about the term

Origin of mumbo jumbo

First appearance:

before 1730

One of the 48% newest English words

First recorded in 1730-40; of disputed orig.

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Mumbo jumbo

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Mumbo jumbo

mumbo jumbo popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 72% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

mumbo jumbo usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for mumbo jumbo

noun mumbo jumbo

claptrap — If you describe something that someone says as claptrap, you mean that it is stupid or foolish although it may sound important.
double-talk — speech using nonsense syllables along with words in a rapid patter.
gibberish — meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing.
gobbledygook — language characterized by circumlocution and jargon, usually hard to understand: the gobbledegook of government reports.
hocus-pocus — a meaningless chant or expression used in conjuring or incantation.

All 7 Synonyms of mumbo jumbo