mumbo jumbo

noun

mum·​bo jum·​bo ˌməm-bō-ˈjəm-(ˌ)bō How to pronounce mumbo jumbo (audio)
1
: an object of superstitious homage and fear
2
a
: a complicated often ritualistic observance with elaborate trappings
b
: complicated activity or language usually intended to obscure and confuse
3
: unnecessarily involved and incomprehensible language : gibberish
4
: language, behavior, or beliefs based on superstition

Examples of mumbo jumbo in a Sentence

We were confused by all the legal mumbo jumbo. His explanation was just a lot of mumbo jumbo.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The rub is that his world is dying because of some specific mumbo jumbo that leads Wade to seek out a Wolverine from a parallel universe to save it. Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2024 That's marketing mumbo jumbo just like Apple's Retina display, but this new OLED purportedly offers a 40 percent higher peak brightness than the Pixel 7A—up to 2,000 nits (1,400 nits with HDR). Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 7 May 2024 Part of the challenge navigating this thread is discerning what’s actually material and what’s just performative mumbo jumbo. Vulture, 25 Jan. 2024 But whatever all-for-one, the-strength-of-the-wolf-is-the-pack mumbo jumbo that has held the Pac-12 together for the past year now feels painfully trite. Bill Oram, oregonlive, 27 July 2023 See all Example Sentences for mumbo jumbo 

Word History

Etymology

Mumbo Jumbo, a masked figure among Mandingo peoples of western Africa

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mumbo jumbo was in 1738

Dictionary Entries Near mumbo jumbo

Cite this Entry

“Mumbo jumbo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mumbo%20jumbo. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

mumbo jumbo

noun
mum·​bo jum·​bo ˌməm-bō-ˈjəm-bō How to pronounce mumbo jumbo (audio)
1
: a complicated ceremony
2
: confusing or meaningless talk or activity
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