517. Unmeaningness. Mawson, C.O. Sylvester. 1922. Roget’s International Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases

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Mawson, C.O.S., ed. (1870–1938). Roget’s International Thesaurus. 1922.

Class IV. Words Relating to the Intellectual Faculties

Division (II) Communication of Ideas

Section I. Nature of Ideas Communicated

517. [Absence of Meaning.] Unmeaningness.


NOUN:	UNMEANINGNESS &c. adj.; scrabble, scribble, scrawl, pot-hooks. empty sound, dead letter, vox et præterea nihil [L.]; “a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing” [Macbeth]; “weasel words” [Roosevelt]; “sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal” [Bible]. NONSENSE, jargon, gibberish, jabber, mere words, hocus-pocus, fustian, rant, bombast, balderdash, palaver, patter [cant or colloq.], flummery, verbiage, babble, bavardage [F.], baragouin [F.], platitude, niaiserie [F.]; inanity; flap-doodle [colloq.]; rigmarole, rodomontade; truism; nugæ canoræ [L.]; twaddle, twattle, fudge, trash; poppy-cock [U. S.]; stuff, - and nonsense; bosh [colloq.], rubbish, moonshine, wish-wash [slang], fiddle-faddle [colloq.]; absurdity [See Absurdity]; imbecility, folly [See Imbecility. Folly]; unintelligibleness, ambiguity, vagueness (unintelligibility) [See Unintelligibility].

VERB:	MEAN NOTHING; be unmeaning &c. adj.; twaddle, quibble, jabber, rant, rodomontade, palaver, babble, fiddle-faddle [colloq.]. SCRIBBLE, scrawl, scrabble, scratch.

ADJECTIVE:	UNMEANING; meaningless, senseless; nonsensical [See Absurdity]; void of sense [See Meaning]. inexpressive, unexpressive; vacant; not significant [See Meaning]; insignificant. TRASHY, washy, wishy-washy [colloq.], inane, wash [obs.], rubbishy, vague, trumpery, trivial, fiddle-faddle [colloq.], twaddling, quibbling. UNMEANT, not expressed; tacit (latent) [See Latency]. INEXPRESSIBLE, undefinable, ineffable, unutterable, incommunicable.

INTERJECTION:	FUDGE! stuff! stuff and nonsense! bosh! fiddle-faddle! [colloq.]; poppy-cock! oh! la-la! [F.]; rubbish! fiddledee-dee! [See Absurdity].

QUOTATIONS:	To varnish nonsense with the charms of sound.—Churchill The spirits of the wise sit in the clouds and mock us.—II Henry IV

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