1
a
: something designed to deceive and mislead
Their claims are humbug.
b
: a willfully false, deceptive, or insincere person
He's just an old humbug.
denounced as humbugs the playwrights who magnify the difficulties of their craft—Times Literary Supplement
2
: an attitude or spirit of pretense and deception
in all his humbug, in all his malice and hollowness—Mary Lindsay
4
British
: a hard usually peppermint-flavored candy
humbugged; humbugging
: to engage in a hoax or deception
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share