junk science
- noun
- /dʒʌŋk ˈsaɪəns/
- Literature
- Critics argue that the study's conclusions are merely junk science, intended to promote a specific agenda rather than reflect reality.
- calls junk science
And this is the phenomenon of the California media junk science.
- And this is the phenomenon of the California media junk science.
- I'm like, OK, this isn't BLM, this is Bud Light Lives Matter junk science.
Examples
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Many health claims are often based on junk science, which can mislead consumers into making poor choices.
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But that kind of junk science puts innocent people in jail.
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It's pure junk science and it's high time we recognize it as such.
Blog text (31) -
We view it as a way of checking up on the people who want to use junk science to regulate how we live.
Academic text (2005) -
Military housing insurance companies are using junk science to assess breed risk.
Blog text (22) -
Please try reading real science on the carbon cycle rather than junk science meant to deceive you.
Blog text (25) -
Scores of scientists, they say, have labeled the use of such tests to verify age as "junk science."
Academic text (2005) -
There have been widespread allegations of junk science leveled at Mark Regnerus.
Blog text (32) -
The report was dismissed as junk science because it lacked credible evidence and clear methodology.
Synonyms
Ideas or practices that pretend to be based on facts but have no good proof
A method that looks scientific but has no real evidence
False or not proven ideas that claim to explain how the world works
Antonyms
How Scientific
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective–noun composition: 'junk' (worthless, discarded) modifying 'science' (systematic study), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means low-quality or unreliable science. This compositional pattern is common and the evaluative sense of 'junk' applied to a domain is readily predictable, making the overall meaning transparent.
Etymology
Junk science comes from the image of junk, meaning trash, mixed with science, as if a study were a pile of rubbish. That's why the phrase describes research or claims that look scientific but are actually 'not real science'.