Malarkey means nonsense, bunk, or empty talk intended to deceive or impress. It's an informal noun with a punchy, dismissive quality: when you call something malarkey, you're not just saying it's wrong, you're saying it doesn't even deserve a serious response. Politicians reach for it, comedians use it, and anyone who wants to swat away a ridiculous claim without getting into a point-by-point argument finds it useful.
Core definition
Malarkey is a mass noun, meaning it doesn't take a plural form and refers to an uncountable quantity of nonsense. The typical dictionary entry defines it as foolish, insincere, or exaggerated talk designed to mislead. Merriam-Webster describes it simply as insincere or foolish talk. The word carries no technical weight at all. It belongs firmly in informal speech and casual writing, not in academic or legal prose.
Grammatically, malarkey behaves like water or furniture: you say "a lot of malarkey" or "a load of malarkey," not "a malarkey" or "several malarkies." That mass-noun structure is part of what gives it its sweeping, dismissive feeling.
Where malarkey comes from
The origin is genuinely uncertain. The word turned up in American English in the 1920s, with early print appearances in newspapers around 1929. Three theories have circulated since then. One traces it to an Irish surname, Mullarkey or Malarkey, though no specific individual has been reliably identified as the source. A second theory suggests a link to the Greek word malakia, meaning softness or weakness, carried into American slang by immigrant communities. A third treats it as a pure invention, one of those expressive coinages that feels right without having a traceable root.
None of these has been confirmed. The honest answer is that no one knows. That said, the uncertainty doesn't make the word any less useful.
How to use malarkey in a sentence
Malarkey works best when you want to dismiss something with force but without cruelty. It sounds exasperated rather than aggressive. A few natural examples:
- "That's pure malarkey and everyone in the room knows it."
- "She cut through the malarkey and got to the real issue in about 30 seconds."
- "Don't give me that malarkey about the report being lost."
The word fits naturally after "a load of," "a bunch of," "none of that," and "stop the." Those collocations reinforce the dismissive register. It doesn't pair well with formal qualifiers like "substantial" or "considerable."
Malarkey in public life
The word got a significant boost in October 2012 when then-Vice President Joe Biden used it during a televised debate, telling his opponent "that's a bunch of malarkey." Search interest spiked immediately, and Merriam-Webster reported a sharp jump in lookups. Biden used the word again publicly in subsequent years, and it became closely associated with his speaking style. That association drew fresh attention each time he appeared in public life through 2024.
The episode is a good illustration of how informal words survive. Malarkey was already around 90 years old by 2012, had never shed its informal label, and yet one memorable moment in a high-profile broadcast refreshed it for a new audience.
Malarkey vs similar words
English has a rich vocabulary for nonsense. Malarkey sits in the same general territory as balderdash, hogwash, bunk, drivel, and poppycock. What distinguishes it is tone. Balderdash and poppycock sound Victorian and slightly theatrical. Hogwash has a rural, earthy quality. Bunk is clipped and blunt. Malarkey occupies a friendly-but-firm middle ground: casual, expressive, and distinctly American in flavour.
It's worth comparing it to words like pablum, which describes talk that is bland and meaningless rather than actively deceptive, and dissembling, which names the deliberate act of hiding one's real motives. Malarkey covers the output, pablum describes the flavour, and dissembling names the intent.
Register and audience
Use malarkey in speech, informal essays, opinion pieces, or any writing where you want a colloquial voice. Avoid it in formal reports, academic writing, or any context where slang would undermine your credibility. The word works partly because it's unexpected: its sound is almost comic, which makes the dismissal feel warmer than a blunt "that's false."
It ages well. Unlike slang that dates itself by referencing a specific cultural moment, malarkey is vague enough about its origins that it doesn't feel tied to any particular decade. A sentence written with it in 1960 reads much the same today.
Quick reference
Part of speech: Noun (mass noun, uncountable).
Register: Informal.
Pronunciation: muh-LAR-kee.
First recorded use: American English, approximately 1929.
Closest synonyms: Nonsense, bunk, hogwash, balderdash.
Typical collocations: "a load of malarkey," "a bunch of malarkey," "stop the malarkey."