pooh-pooh

verb

variants also pooh
Definition of pooh-poohnext
as in to dismiss
informal to think or say that (something) is not very good or not true They pooh-poohed my suggestion. He pooh-poohed the idea that the house was haunted.

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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 pooh-pooh LaRoche tried to pooh-pooh the notion, and certainly did not wish Agent McGee to alarm his wife. — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 14 Apr. 2025 In Cleveland, see Jimmy Haslam scare off quality candidates and then pooh-pooh fresh faces brave enough to want to work for him. — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026 But weather forecasters typically pooh-pooh their predictions. — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025 No wonder his officers pooh-pooh Haiti’s gangs as amateurs compared to their previous foes, like Al Shabaab – though the al Qaeda affiliate hasn’t been entirely vanquished back home in Kenya. — Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024 One could be forgiven to pooh-pooh yet another play that lays out William Shakespeare’s bona fides as a hip-hop icon, the original bar spitter who beefed with plenty of his contemporaries while dropping sick flows all over Elizabethan England. — David John Chávez, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026 National Weather Service debunks woolly bear forecasting abilities Of course, the National Weather Service has come along to pooh-pooh the woolly bear's winter foresight, with its science and facts. — Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 31 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pooh-pooh
  1. dismiss
  2. reject
  3. ignore
Verb
  • In April, the Superior Court dismissed the three citations Hubbard received in May 2025 when no park ranger or city attorney appeared for the prosecution, his lawsuit states.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Freeney did not dismiss the business side of the arrangement.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of dismiss
Verb
  • Critics see it as another attempt to breathe life into claims that courts, investigators and election officials have repeatedly rejected — and another corrosive attempt to undermine faith in the state’s vote.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 6 July 2026
  • Questioning, if not rejecting, established Christian doctrine, Ahab also comes to regard Moby Dick as the outward and visible sign, the physical embodiment of the indifference or, worse, utter malignity inherent in the universe.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Definition of reject
Verb
  • Swift will either ignore the noise as usual, or smile at the absurdity as a secure, proud childless cat lady.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Not only were the rules misapplied, according to an expert referee with years of elite experience, but similar plays during this tournament have been ignored.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
Definition of ignore

Browse Nearby Words

pooh-bahs
pooh-pooh
pooh-poohed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pooh-pooh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-pooh. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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