cockamamy

adjective

ˌkä-kə-ˈmā-mē How to pronounce cockamamy (audio)
variants or cockamamie
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter a cockamamy plan that could only have been dreamt up by a cartoonish mad scientist

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 cockamamy Eventually, the fake celebrity needs money for some cockamamie reason. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026 Affleck directs and stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA exfiltration specialist who comes up with a cockamamie scheme to free a group of hostages hiding in the home of a Canadian diplomat. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cockamamy
  1. ridiculous
  2. absurd
  3. silly
  4. pathetic
  5. foolish
  6. stupid
Adjective
  • One woman who grew up in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution is not only pushing back against her home country's reaction, but also calling out how blatantly ridiculous the situation is.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The game includes a ridiculous campaign centered around a new Korean civil war.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of ridiculous
Adjective
  • Maybe that’s an absurd quibble, though, for a series that is proudly manufactured from the very beginning.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • There's no luck in baseball, because everything must have an explanation, no matter how absurd.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • The Wu-Tang Clan's mastermind has carved out a second career directing mid-level action flicks, and last year's One Spoon of Chocolate is a solid if silly movie.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Most phone apps look silly this way, especially those still running as standard iPhone apps, which look normal but with lots of black padding on either side.
    — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • His pathetic, dangerous charade reminds me of an infamous voter fraud case from 30 years ago.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • There’s nothing more important than defeating his pathetic opponent, Mike Collins.
    — NBC news, NBC news, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of pathetic
Adjective
  • The descent into foolish and self-destructive groupthink provides the drama.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But Ohtani also struck out three times Thursday — made to look foolish in a much-too-familiar way.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • Sick and suffering and young and stupid do not factor into the construction of a case against you.
    — Ivy Wolk, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Just give us the stupid game on the stupid channel and leave us alone.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of stupid

Browse Nearby Words

cockalorums
cockamamy
cock a snook (at)
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Cite this Entry

“Cockamamy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cockamamy. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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