pablum
- noun
- /ˈpæbləm/
- Archaic
- His presentation was criticized for being mere pablum instead of providing any meaningful insights.
- political pablum
Pandering pablum from Putin's pet presidents.
- Pandering pablum from Putin's pet presidents.
Examples
-
Usually, you only see this sort of pablum from Dems pretending to be Republicans so they can try to sway people.
Blog text (29) -
Instead, they were fed pablum like alternative hydrogen fuel cell technology, which needed five miracles to be practical.
Blog text (11) -
We are still feeding our secondary students pablum when they ought to have graduated to meat and potatoes!
Academic text (1991) -
Indeed, "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" is the sort of solid work to offer anyone who wants more than textbook pablum about Columbus.
Academic text (1992) -
Diane, I hope to hear a nutritious discussion on this subject rather than the pablum that is increasingly common on NPR.
Blog text (27) -
Norman Levitt was a great man, a leonine defender of science against the trendy pablum advanced under the guise of post-modern critique.
Blog text (28) -
The last debate was filled with nothing but pablum, lacking any depth or real ideas.
-
Many people are frustrated by the pablum that dominates political speeches these days.
Synonyms
A remark used so often that it sounds dull and gives no new idea
An idea or remark that is very obvious and boring
Simple words and ideas that lack real meaning
Words or ideas that sound important but have little real meaning
A boring, unoriginal saying people use too often
Simple, boring ideas that do not make you think
Boring, unimportant words or ideas in speech that have no real meaning
Cheap, silly writing or shows that give little real information
Antonyms
How Bland
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word pablum comes from the Latin pabulum, which means 'food' and was used as the name for a soft baby cereal. Because that cereal was bland and simple, people began to call dull or empty ideas pablum, so today it means bland, worthless writing or speech.